Never Let You Go
by pinkprincess13310
Summary: This is what happens after "A Dream Come True." A little girl enters Sam and Quorra's lives. What happens to the newly engaged couple and the girl when recent events come back to haunt them? R
1. Prologue

_**Hey, everyone! This is the second installment to my proposed "A Dream Come True" Trilogy. I don't own Tron. Enjoy! :)**_

PROLGOUE

_Quorra P.O.V._

I looked down from where I stood, planted on the edge of the ENCOM tower. I felt my head start to spin as I realized that the little specks on the ground were cars and various vehicles. My vision seemed to blur as fear swept throughout my body. I was really far from the ground.

"Sam, I can't do it," I whispered as tears poured from my eyes and ran down my pink cheeks. "I…I just can't," I told him as I tried to take a step backwards, away from the ledge.

His arms were wrapped tight around my midsection and I could feel his body pressed up against my own. "Yes, you can, Quorra. Please, trust me," he said in a rough tone. "We don't have a choice," he went on as he nudged against my steps.

"We'll die, Sam, I can't-" I choked on my words as I looked down again.

"We won't, I promise you," he assured as I heard his voice fade as he looked behind us. "Please, we have to go, Quorra, it's the only way that we'll get out of here."

I shook my head. "No, it's not. We can go back the way we came…" I tried as my body started to shake violently.

"Quorra, what do you not understand about the building is on fire?" he practically yelled at me. "We'll burn up in there!" he said in a frustrated tone.

"I'm scared," I told him in a breath as I tried not to look down at the city that was unobservant towards what was going on above their heads.

"I'm here," he said to me as he locked his arms tighter around. "You know that I would never let anything happen to you. You have to trust me, Q," he pleaded with me.

I started to hear sirens in the distance and my heart started to race a little more. "You know that I trust you, Sam Flynn…" I murmured.

"Then do this for me, love," he breathed against my ear. "I've got you, no matter what," he promised me. "Remember when we jumped from CLU's ship when we got my father's disk back?" he asked me in a tone lathered with remembrance. I nodded slightly. "It's just like that, I had you then, and I've got you now," he repeated.

I turned to look at him with wide eyes. "Alright," I said shakily.

He looked at me for a brief moment. "Don't be scared, I've got you and I'll never let go," he said as he started to position my body to his again. "You have to jump on three or else this won't work," he told me as he positioned one arm around my stomach and the other went diagonally across my chest.

I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three…"

_**So, yeah, its just a prologue but i hope you liked it. :) Please review and let me know what you think. the quicker you review, the quicker I will update XD**_


	2. Chapter 1

**_Hey, everyone! (: Hope you enjoy this chapter and I don't own TRON or the characters. Enjoy!_**

_Chapter 1: Awakening_

_Sam P.O.V._

I stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off, pulling on a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt before opening the bathroom door. The door opened to the bedroom and I looked over towards the bed to see the pretty feminine frame still lying in it.

She was curled up inside of the white comforter and linen sheets, her head resting against the down pillow. Her face was angled in my direction and I saw her electrifying blue eyes pop open. She smiled softly over at me and propped her head up with her hand as she gazed at me.

"Good morning," she murmured drowsily as she yawned.

I laughed. "You mean, good afternoon," I corrected as I gestured towards the clock that read 1:37 p.m. "You slept through morning for once," I teased her as I walked towards the bed and picked up my phone.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed as she sat upright in the bed and frowned. "We were supposed to be at ENCOM two hours ago," she said in a distressed tone.

I shook my head at her. "No, I called Alan around nine to let him know that we wouldn't be in today. If anything, we'll go in this evening if something needs to be done, but we're all caught up," I told her with a shrug.

She let out a sigh in relief in pressed her head inside of her hands. "Ow, my head," she complained as she rubbed her hair. "And I'm still tired," she told me with a sleepy giggle.

"Jet lag," I explained to her as I put on a pair of jeans. "Which is also why you slept in so late," I added with a glance in her direction. "You were talking in your sleep last night," I murmured with a small grin.

"No, I wasn't, I would've heard…" she grumbled as she ran her fingers through her hair and undid the covers so she could sit up fully.

I chuckled. "You don't hear yourself talk in your sleep, love," I told her. "Because you're sleeping," I said as I turned to look at her.

"Oh, really? That is quite strange. What did I say then?" she asked me as she stood up and stretched her arms out a bit.

"You said…" I trailed off as my eyes trailed over her figure. She was wearing a pair of shorts with a white see-through tank top and a black bra underneath.

Sometimes I wondered if she dressed like that to tease me but I knew, with her innocence, that she wasn't. She probably didn't even notice how her night clothes affected me.

"I said…?" Quorra trailed off as she walked up to me and pinched my nose. "Did you forget already?" she asked playfully as she brushed her hand over my arm as she walked past me.

I smiled. "You said a lot of things. I think you were remembering my father and the Grid…you sounded sad," I commented.

She stopped walking away from me and turned, her eyes looking suddenly weary. "I dreamt about it all last night, the first night in a long time too. I thought that I had forgotten about it all but I guess not," she stated.

"You can't really forget things," I said to her. "And anyways, would you really want to forget it all? It's a part of your past and it's important to you."

She sighed. "I suppose you're right, but still…" she mumbled as she stared out the window. "Sometimes I don't want to remember because it's so…sad isn't even the right word for it," she sighed.

"I understand," I told her as I walked towards her and squeezed her shoulders gently from behind. "Everyone is like that about something," I soothed.

She smiled kindly at me and leaned in to kiss me gently. "See? You always say the right thing. Not many people can," she told me with a small laugh.

I hugged her to me for a moment. "What do you want to eat?" I asked.

"I'm not really that hungry," she answered with a frown. She pulled away from me and then walked into our spacious closet. "I'll eat something later," she said a bit louder as I heard shuffling in the closet. "And anyways, I need to shower," she added as she reappeared in the doorway and then walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Alright, well I'm taking Marv out," I said as I grabbed a pair of shoes and put them on.

"No!" Quorra said from the bathroom. "I want to go too, Sam Flynn," she said in her excited tone. "I'll be ready soon."

I shrugged and walked out of our bedroom then. Marvin looked at me expectantly and stood, scampering over to me and barking a few times. I looked over at his food bowl and noticed that it was empty for once. I went into the kitchen and pulled out the dog food from one of the lower cabinets, filling up his bowl halfway before setting it down.

Once I put the dog food away, I turned on the TV and put it on the news. I made myself a glass of orange juice and then went to sit down on the couch. Marvin came to sit by my feet and he looked up at me with his large, curious eyes.

I had been keeping an eye on the news recently. The tabloids had been focusing on Quorra for the past three weeks while we were in New York. Quorra was completely baffled as to why they were so interested in her. Somehow America had found out about the engagement and they hadn't left us alone since. I tried to keep Quorra out of it but doing that only made things worse.

They started making up answers to the questions that they had. Where was she from? Where did they meet? Are they sleeping together? How long have they been romantically involved? When was the wedding? Was she pregnant?

Quorra had become instantaneously popular from all of the attention. Magazines were trying to get her to sign modeling contracts with them, interviews, talk shows, and whatnot. Women suddenly wanted to live her life because of how flawless she looked, how perfect her shape was, and the rich CEO who she was engaged to.

She didn't like the attention. She didn't like people looking at her the way that they did now. She said that it was annoying because now she has to watch what she says in public so people don't get suspicious of her.

I looked out the large window to our apartment and sighed. We were expecting rain later today and the clouds were already rolling in.

I directed my attention back towards the TV and watched it with low interest. The news reporter was talking about stocks and bonds that would be in people's best interest to buy within the next few months.

I heard the door open to the bathroom in our bedroom and I heard Quorra humming some sort of tune aloud. A few minutes of shuffling passed before Quorra walked out of our bedroom and closed the door behind her. She was wearing a light blue shirtdress with a pair of black leggings that went to her mid-calf underneath. She was carrying a pair of flats in her left hand, setting them down on the door before walking into the kitchen.

"I need to go to the store and get a few things, where are the keys to the car?" she asked me as she fixed herself a glass of water.

"I can go with you," I murmured as I stood and walked over to the cabinet in the foyer, pulling open one of the drawers and grabbing the keys.

"No, I'll go by myself and anyways, you still have to take Marvin out," she reminded me as she pointed to my dog that was following me around with a whining expression.

I set the keys on the counter and eyed her. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yes, why?" she questioned back as she turned her back on me.

I heaved a sigh and frowned. "Because you never tell me that I can't go somewhere with you," I answered.

She took a sip of her water and turned to face me. "Well, no, nothing's wrong. I just need to get some…stuff…" she mumbled.

I crinkled my nose at the way she said 'stuff.' "Yeah, you can do that on your own, but you should eat something, women tend to get sick when they don't eat and…that's going on. You lose-"

"Iron, I know," she said as she waved her hand in the air as to shrug off the subject. "I'll pick something up on my way back. Do you want anything? We can order in," she said with a smile

"Can you get a six pack of beer, and maybe a bottle of champagne?" I asked her. "I have some old friends coming over on Friday and I think we're running low."

Quorra giggled. "You think?" she asked me in a teasing tone. "We only have one beer left and Alan and Lora finished off the last of the champagne when they came over yesterday night after our flight had come in."

I chuckled. "And I'll order something for takeout for the two of us and I'll text you where it is, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she said as she opened the closet and grabbed a purse. She took the keys from on the counter and I wrapped an arm around her before she walked away.

"Don't get into any trouble, you-"

She rolled her beautiful eyes at me. "Really, Sam? We've been over this, cut it out," she complained as she struggled to move away from me

"Well, then recited it to me if we've been over it that much," I countered as I pressed her closer to me.

She sighed. "Don't talk to any strangers and call you if anything seems wrong," she recited. "Are you happy? I'm not a child, Sam Flynn," she said to me.

"I know you aren't," I told her. "I'm just making sure."

Her facial features softened then and she touched my cheek with her soft fingers. "I'll be good," she told me as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to my other cheek. "I'll see you later."

I kissed her lips once, twice, and then a third time before she could pull away from me. She giggled as I let go of her and she backed away. "I'll see you later then," I echoed as she turned her back on me and headed for the door.

She stopped at the door and ran her fingers along a touch screen panel of the security system. I heard a clicking noise before Quorra opened the front door and closed it behind her.

Marvin jumped up onto my legs then and I looked down at him. "Alright, alright, we're heading out now," I grumbled as I went to grab his leash and then attach it to his collar.

Moving to a new apartment complex sure did have its ups and downs. A few of the good things about the new complex was that now Quorra and I had an even larger living space than before, not like it was really needed though. Quorra liked the new complex because it was in a new area and she was determined to explore it all within the next month.

A few downsides were; how much farther we had to drive to get to ENCOM, the smaller walking area behind the complex, and the fact that moving in took forever.

We were still not completely moved in. The bedroom and living area were done for the most part, but the rest of the boxes were in the spare room that was supposed to be Quorra's bedroom before she had decided that she would just sleep in my, or our, room like she always did. Since we had just flown in from New York yesterday afternoon, we hadn't had a chance to unpack other things yet.

I took Marvin out from the back way and I decided to take him on the longer trail today since I hadn't taken him out yet. He was eager to get out, I could tell by how he tugged against the lead.

Quorra had really enjoyed New York even though she didn't get to experience every part of it. We were there to see if there was a doctor that could help us. His name was Dr. Reid and he was familiar with the Isomorphic Algorithms theory. Quorra had intrigued him and we had spent hours upon hours in his office as he learned about Quorra.

He was so interested with Quorra that he had decided to move to California so he could be Quorra's regular doctor and run more studies on her as well.

He gave us the answers that we had been wondering about since Quorra had come here 'What can she really do for the world?'

Dr. Reid had run some tests and concluded that her perfect DNA strands had transferred into her blood, which was why she had not died about a month ago. Her blood was what could change everything.

I liked him for the most part, he seemed like a trustworthy person, but I didn't like the tests that he put Quorra through.

Simulating a rare but deadly flu, injecting poisons and toxins that would normally kill a human into her, testing how her body reacted to diseases.

But, besides all of the time that we spent at the doctor's office, I had been able to get her away one snowy morning to propose to her in the Conservatory Garden during a sunrise.

She had absolutely loved it, which in turn, made me love it too. I wanted it to be perfect, and it was.

I smiled as I walked along the pathway. I was a really lucky guy.

After I brought Marvin back inside, I made takeout reservations and texted Quorra the address of the restaurant. Once I did that, I decided to unpack a few boxes that consisted of picture frames, books, and a few lighting fixtures.

My phone rang as I was unpacking a box full of Quorra's college papers. It was Alan.

"Hey, Al," I said into the phone as I stood and carried the box into the spacious den area. "What's up?"

"I thought I'd inform you that…" he paused as I heard a door click shut and a sigh from the other line. "Dillinger comes back on Monday, or I guess, a week from next Monday. He won his trial," he told me.

I set the box down. "Huh?"

"The trial? Don't tell me that you forgot, it was two days ago, kiddo. Well, anyways, he won and he's coming back," he repeated.

I frowned. "But…" I trailed off as my eyes narrowed. "How?"

"Sam," Alan said in a hard tone. "I don't care that you believe that Ed Jr. did that to her but he isn't guilty, so you will drop it, okay? It's bad for the business for the two of you to be acting like this over a girl. We aren't in seventh grade, kiddo," he said to me.

I sighed. "Yeah, alright, I hear you," I grumbled. "But what happened with the trial?"

"Only the girl and the two waiters are guilty it seems," he said and it sounded like he was unconvinced. I didn't want to believe it either.

That was another reason why Quorra and I had left Los Angeles for a while. Someone had been after her, first sneaking into our old apartment and trying to shoot her and next, trying to poison her at an ECNOM board dinner. I had believed that it was Dillinger Jr., hell, I still believed it was him. Someone was just trying to cover him up.

"Alan? But you don't think that's weird? No one from ENCOM was connected to what happened. I don't believe that at all," I said in disbelief.

"It may not make sense and for all we know, this all could not be true, but it's what it is now. All I can tell you is…just be watchful around him? But don't go asking for trouble," Alan said.

I heaved another sigh. "Yeah, okay," I murmured. "See you, Alan," I said before I hung up the phone on him.

I continued to unpack as I thought about what Alan had just told me. I couldn't believe any of it, but then again, what was I thinking? Maybe I was wrong and was just being sour. Was I being unnecessarily sour?

A lock turning though caused my thoughts to dissipate and I jumped, turning around to see Quorra coming inside the front door. She touched the security panel as she shut the door and then set her things down. "Hey," she said happily. "I really like the whole concept of spring. Everything is so pretty, trees blooming, baby birds, new smells. The air smells fresher too, I think," she noted with a grin. "What's wrong?" she asked as she seemed to take in my mood.

"Nothing…" I mumbled as I stood and picked up the empty box. "Just doing some unpacking."

She made a noise with her tongue and half glared at me. "I didn't ask what you were doing, I asked what was wrong. You look…troubled," she commented as she placed the bags on the counter and put her purse in the closet.

"Dillinger comes back in about a week, seems as though he didn't do it," I told her finally as I set the box back down over in a corner.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" she asked me as she came to stand in front of me. "He's the head of the technology department and you know that they've been suffering without him. Things will run quicker when he's back," she said.

I grimaced. "It's amazing at how forgiving you are of people. What if he just got off of the hook for trying to kill you?" I asked her.

"Well, then it'll come back eventually and…hmm…what is that saying?" she pondered. "Oh, yeah, bite him in the butt," she said with a shrug. "If he didn't do it, then he didn't do it. Nothing has happened in about a month so let's just not worry about it for now," she said in a sighing tone.

I fell silent for a few moments and watched her stare at me with curious eyes. "I guess you're right, Alan said the same thing, sort of," I mumbled as I wrapped my arms around her. "Did you get everything you needed?" I asked.

"Yes, and right before it started to rain," she stated as she pointed towards the windows. "And I love the new car, by the way, it's so fast!" she said in a happy tone. "Oh yeah, and I got a ticket," she added as she fished a piece of paper out of the small carrying case that was attached to the keys.

"What?" I asked her as I took the piece of paper from her.

"I got a ticket for driving too fast," she said with a shrug. "It's so stupid that you humans care about that. I wasn't going to hit anyone, I knew what I was doing," she murmured. "Although, the Police Officer…he was very kind."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah, you were doing 80 miles an hour in a 50 mile per hour zone and he only gave you a citation," I grumbled. "Usually you get a ticket and fined for that," I said to her.

"Well, why didn't I?" she asked me with a small smile playing on her lips.

"I have a couple of reasons…" I said softly as I kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it," I told her. "So you like the car?" I asked her, changing the subject.

"Oh, yes!" she squealed. "It's so much smoother than the other and I swear, it didn't even feel like I was driving that fast," she said with a laugh.

We had gotten a new car recently. We had gotten rid of the Lexus and had gotten a BMW 7 Series. Quorra said that she had wanted a sports car so I thought that that car was something that she would like. Fast like a sports car, but also having all of the space of a normal sized sedan

"I'm glad you like it," I told her with a grin. "Have you eaten yet?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet, although I am quite hungry now. I decided to wait until I got back home," she said as she motioned towards two takeout bags on the counter. "I hope you got me a Caesar salad too because I really want one," she said as she pulled away and seemed to gracefully float over towards the counter.

"I did, actually," I said. "I know that you like them."

She opened up the bags and grabbed two plates from the cabinet. "Can we get a kitten?" she asked me as I came to grab a plate and fix my dish as well.

"Why?" I asked.

She grunted. "I already told you. They are cute and you have Marvin. I want a pet too," she told me as she moved to sit at the table in the dining area.

"Okay, I-"

I was cut off as a phone rang, Quorra's phone. She stood and grabbed it from the counter and looked at the number. "I don't think I know who that is," she murmured before she hit the accept button. I internally grimaced at her. "Hello?"

I watched as recognition dawned on her face and I relaxed a bit and took a bite out of my cheeseburger.

"No, it's due tomorrow," she said in an irritated tone. "No, I already turned it in," she stated as a frown sculpted onto her eyebrows. "No, I can't today. I have things to do…Well, you should've started on it earlier, no?" she asked. "I can e-mail you my notes and maybe the three of you can use them there," she sighed.

"Who is that?" I asked her, knowing it was one of her college classmates, but didn't know which one.

"His name is Oscar," she mouthed to me as she listened. "It didn't take too long but I can't help you," she told him. "Maybe some other time," she murmured. "Bye."

She came to sit across from me again. "I've never heard of Oscar before," I said with a smile. "Is he a friend?" I asked her casually.

"I wouldn't define him as a friend. I don't really have friends, I believe. Sure, I don't mind talking to some of the people that I have classes with but…they're all…" she trailed off as she thought about her answer for a moment. "Kind of annoying. There's one girl, Emily, whose really nice and she's really smart, but the others are so…shortsighted," she murmured. "You know what I mean?"

I nodded as I opened up a coke and took a drink of it. "To you, most of humanity probably seems shortsighted," I chided. "We're not as smart as you are."

"I know but, some humans do act more perceptive and I think that the rest are just consciously incompetent," she clarified.

I chuckled and took another bite of my burger. Quorra ate most of her salad before she had a small bite of her chicken.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Hmm?" I wondered as Quorra stood and threw the rest of her food in the chrome trashcan.

"What will we do with the spare room?" she asked me as she started shuffling around in the kitchen and putting things away.

I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. We could make it a study, or a mini library, I know you'd like that. Although, we probably won't stay here very long, Alan suggested that we buy a home in the suburbs soon."

"Why?" she asked me as she turned around leaned up against the counter and crossed her arms. "What's so different between the two?"

"Nothing really," I assured her. "But…most married couples like…their privacy; I suppose you can say, the first few years," I hinted as I stood and threw away my trash and held the bottle of coke in my hand.

"Oh…" she murmured. "I forgot about that," she told me with a small smile. "That would be nice," she finished a bit shyly.

I wished that I knew what was going through her head now. Her expression told me that she was thinking deeply about something but I knew that she wasn't going to tell me about it. "It's not a big deal at the moment though, so don't worry about it. Alan and I will take care of it," I told her.

She nodded and walked over to the den area and sat down on the couch. "Can we design one?" she asked me as she turned to look at me. "That would be fun," she said happily.

"That's a lot of hard work though but we'll think about it," I answered as I came to join her on the couch and pulled her into my arms. "My adorable, admirable, precious little ISO…who gets speeding tickets," I teased as I nuzzled my nose into her neck.

She laughed and leaned into me. "Dr. Reid called me while I was out today. He said that he's finally situated into his new offices. He said that he wants us to come by on Saturday. He wants to try something new with me," she said with a curious smile.

I didn't like the sound of that. "That's great," I mumbled sarcastically but I couldn't help the small grin that played on my lips. "Did he say what he will be testing this time?" I asked her.

"I don't think he's running a test one me this time, Sam. He said that he wanted to try something new, something about cancer and transfusions…" she trailed off as she tapped her head. "And a little girl. He sounded quite energized," she told me with wide eyes.

"That's interesting," I murmured as I wrapped a blanket around the two of us.

"It really is," she told me with a grin. "I've been trying to learn about children for months now but no one that we know has kids," she said with a sigh. "So, hopefully, it will be a learning experience," she proposed as she clasped her hands together. "Whatever it is."

I chuckled. "We will see then," I told her. "How about a movie?" I asked as I started flipping through channels on the TV.

"A movie would be great."

_**I hope that you all are liking this story...I haven't gotten very much feedback so I'm hoping thats a good thing...? Anyways, review and tell me what you think or if you have any idea, cc, etc. See ya soon!**_


	3. Chapter 2

**_I'm back with another update, hurray! I'm pretty confident with how i needed this chapter to go so that means I'm on track with this story! yayyy! enjoy!_**

_Chapter 2:Promises_

_Quorra P.O.V._

I pressed my face up against the glass with wide eyes. "What's all of that?" I asked Sam as I looked through the glass, noticing a few little humans lying in these strange little triangular beds with tubes connected to them.

"I don't know what it's called but that's where premature babies go to get taken care of," Sam said as he came to stand beside me. His hand rested on my shoulder and I felt his breath tickle my neck. "I don't know why you're asking me all of these questions, love. I barely have the slightest idea of what's going on too," he reminded me.

I sighed and turned to look at him. "Why not?" I asked as he started to lead me down the hall again.

"Because," he told me simply with a chuckle as we walked up two flights of stairs.

I glared over at him. "I told you how much I dislike that type of answer. You're not even trying," I said with a pout. "I'm trying to learn about children and you're not helping. Weren't you a child?" I asked him.

"Yes, but that was a long time ago," he told me.

"Like a thousand years ago?" I asked him in a sarcastic tone as we stopped at an elevator. "I still remember everything within that time span and here you are forgetting things from 28 and less years ago?" I asked him with curiosity.

He shook his head and pulled me into the elevator when it opened. "Babies and children's minds work different than adults…and yours," he said to me as he wrapped an arm lightly around my waist.

"Finally a somewhat useful answer," I said to him with a giggle.

"Stop being a little smarty pants," he murmured as he squeezed my hip. "Although it's quite sexy," he whispered in my ear before the elevator opened. A small blush crossed over my cheeks and Sam laughed. "So adorable," he breathed as we started to walk out of the elevator and down another hallway.

"Where are we going?" I asked Sam. "Are we almost there?" I went on.

"Just to that front desk, babe," Sam answered as he pointed to the desk at the end of the hallway. I smiled. "The attendant at the visitor's desk said that Dr. Reid would meet us up here," he added as he squeezed my hand.

We walked up to the front desk and a lady behind it looked up at us with a bright smile. "Are you Sam Flynn and Quorra Garner?" she asked us.

"Yes," Sam answered. "Is Dr. Reid here?" he asked her.

"Yes, sir, he'll be out in a moment. You can sit over there in the meantime," she said as she gestured towards a waiting room on the side. Sam and I walked over to the waiting room and took a seat.

"So this pediatrics hospital…it's just for children?" I asked Sam as I looked at the shelf of small, thin books and parent magazines.

Sam nodded. "Exactly, just for kids," he confirmed with a small smile.

"Sam, Quorra, how are you?" a voice asked. Sam and I looked up to see Dr. Reid standing near the counter. "Thanks for getting them for me, Olivia," he murmured to the attendant behind the counter. "Please, come with me," he said as he started to walk away.

We both stood and followed him down the hallway. "I must admit, I like California a lot more than I expected. My kids like it here too," he said as he turned back to smile at us. "But I think it's just because they are only minutes away from Disney Land," he said with a warm laugh. "I made a good choice by coming here."

"That's good," Sam said.

"How have the two of you been?" he asked us. "Have you tried what I asked yet?" he murmured as he turned a corner and opened a door to a small lab working room. He motioned for us to step in and he closed the door behind us.

"We're doing great. Quorra got into Stanford University and will be an online student for the time being," I said with a proud smile as I squeezed Quorra's hand. "Hopefully the classes there will be more of a challenge for her. She wouldn't stop complaining about how easy her previous online courses were," I said with a laugh.

"I doubt they'll be any harder for her," Dr. Reid said reassuringly. "Quorra, come sit over here," he said to me as he turned and started to fill out some paperwork. I sat down in the high desk and internally frowned. I hated getting my blood drawn.

"And as far as experimenting goes, nothing yet," I told him with a frown. "Maybe I'm trying too hard," I mumbled with a sigh.

"Possibly, but don't beat yourself up about it, if you can, you can," he said with a shrug. "But I do recommend that you maybe try it on Sam next time," he said as he moved to a laptop and scrolled through a few pages. "He knows you, just like you know him. It may be easier to do mind control on him because of how connected you are," he explained as he turned back to look at us. "But like I said, not a big deal at the moment, and definitely not what we are here for today."

I shifted in the seat as Dr. Reid walked over to me. "I'm just going to draw about a pint of blood for the procedure today. I'm going to perform a blood transfusion with it to see if I can find out how effective it is on other people," he told us.

"Who will you perform it on?" I asked him curiously as he started feeling the inside of my elbow for a pulse.

"Just wait and see," he told me as he cleaned the spot with an antibacterial wipe and then grabbed the needle. "And you won't necessarily meet them. My team has already prepped them for the transfusion. It'll be quick though," he added. "You aren't permitted in the room until the procedure is done and my team has cleaned up. Hospital regulations," he said as he poked me with the needle and started pulling blood from the vein. I watch as a small bag started to fill up.

"So we don't need to stay then?" Sam asked.

Dr. Reid shook his head. "No, the patient won't wake until maybe an hour after the procedure and even then…they go in and out of a coma so it's not guaranteed that they will wake today," he answered.

"No, but I want to stay. You said on the phone that it was a little girl, right?" I asked him. "I want to meet her," I objected as he pulled the needle out of my arm and cleaned it before putting a Band-Aid over it.

Dr. Reid chuckled. "You can stay if you'd like and I'll call the two of you into her room once I'm done, okay?" he asked us with a smile. "Drink some orange juice before you stand back up. You may be a little dizzy feeling," he instructed as he grabbed a bottle of orange juice and handed it to me. "A nurse will escort you back to the waiting room in a minute or two," he stated as he picked up the packet of blood and walked out of the room with one last glance in our direction.

"You think I'd get used to being stabbed with needles so often but I still hate it," I muttered after I took a sip of orange juice. "It doesn't feel too good and it kind of makes me feel tired."

Sam nodded in understanding and came to stand in front of me. "Yeah, I'm not a big fan of it either but it's how doctors do things," he reminded me with a smile.

"Do you want to stay?" I asked him as I screwed the top back on the bottle and looked up at him.

He grinned at me. "I'd actually like to. I'm very interested as to why he's doing this and a little interested about the little kid. Why would he choose a little kid to test run this with?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "I don't know but I hope it's a good thing," I murmured with a small smile.

"Hey, how about this?" Sam asked as he took my hands and helped me up. "Remember how I took you to the beach a while ago? How about we go swimming this time?" he suggested. "There's this really nice private beach that I used to go to when I was younger and I'd love to take you," he murmured.

I stifled a laugh. "That would be fun," I said with pure excitement. "Wait, but I don't have a bathing suit," I told him with a frown.

"I thought you wanted to go skinny dipping with me," he whispered against my ear as he pulled my body against his. "Wouldn't that be fun?" he asked me with a grin and a quick kiss. I laughed nervously and Sam chuckled in response. "I'm kidding, Quorra, I packed them before we left this morning. I was going to surprise you. We haven't done anything fun in a while…for your standards," he said to me as he looked down at me.

I giggled. "No, we haven't," I agreed with a sheepish smile.

"Good, then its set. Once we leave, we'll head to the beach," he announced as the door opened to the small room.

A nurse escorted us back to the waiting room and we took our seats again. I took out my iPad and continued reading my current story while Sam worked on some schoolwork on his laptop. We sat in the waiting room for about 25 minutes before Dr. Reid came out.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked as he shut his laptop and started packing it away in his backpack.

Dr. Reid smiled at us. "Spectacular isn't even a word for it," he answered. "She woke up," he said in a somewhat confused but amazed tone. "Here, I'll explain everything on the way to her room."

And that's exactly what he did.

"Her name is Grace Ashley Morgan and she is currently five years old. She has a type of cancer called neuroblastoma which is a cancer that mostly younger children get. She was diagnosed with it when she was three, quite old for a diagnosis with this cancer. She was cleared cancer free when she turned four but she relapsed about two months ago," he explained as we started down a main hallway. "Once a child relapses with this type of cancer, there is practically nothing that can be done for them, which is why I chose her as one of the best candidates for this procedure," he went on. "She's currently in an adoption center because her parents decided that they didn't want her after she relapsed. They wanted to start over, without her. So-"

"So they just gave her up? Just like that?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Some families don't think that they can't handle these types of things. It's not a regularity but it's not uncommon, Quorra," he informed me. "She's young and she has a lot of potential which is why I was thinking to do a blood transfusion. Your blood will act as a cleaner, if you will, as well as take away all of the damaged cells within her body, ultimately curing her of the cancer," he said as he stopped in front of a plain white door. "But that will take a little bit of time to fully happen," he added as he placed his hand on the knob. "Are you ready to meet her?" he asked us.

"Well…I just feel like my brain was fried," Sam grumbled as he rubbed his head. I giggled and nudged into him.

"Yes, we're ready," I said eagerly.

"I've met with her a few times before. She's such a sweet child," Dr. Reid told us as he opened the door and invited us in. Sam took my hand and I followed him inside the small hospital room.

I scanned the room for a small human figure until I landed on it…or her. She was lying in the middle of the room on a cushioned bed. She was very tiny, looking like she was maybe three from my recent learning about children. She had light green eyes and short blond hair that didn't go past her chin. The hair was messy though, clumped in some spots and then gone in other spots. Her face was small and boney, as well as a little pale for what was normal for humans. Her lips had a slight blue tint to them and I could see them shivering.

There was a nurse writing something down on a clipboard at the foot of her bed. "Sherri," Dr. Reid said as we walked in. "The girl is freezing, look at her. Go get her some blankets and maybe some sort of liquid," he instructed. She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. "Grace, I brought a few guests to see you," he said with a soft smile.

"I told you…that…I like being called…Gracey better," she said in a soft trilling tone that was very childlike. I listened intently as her voice stopped every few moments to take breaths of air. She smiled softly up at him before turning her gaze on Sam and me. "You must be the couple…that the doctor was telling me about," she said. "Hi, I'm Grace…but as you can see, I like…Gracey better," she said with a tiny laugh.

"Hi, Gracey," Sam and I said in unison as we stepped farther into the room, closer to her bed. I noticed how thin her arms were then and it seemed as though her shoulders were compressed a bit by the way they slumped.

"This is Sam and Quorra," Dr. Reid told her as he sat down in the chair and started to take out a clipboard from a drawer. "She donated for you," he added as he gestured towards me.

The girl took a deep breath before talking again. "The doctor said that you're gonna make…me all better, is that true?" she asked me in her light tone.

"We hope so," I told her with a soft smile.

"That's good…cause Mom and Dad said I would never-"she stopped as she started coughing. I watched as her body shook with her coughs. She looked very weak. "Get better," she finished with a sad smile.

"Sam…" I murmured as I turned to him with a frown. "This is a bit…sad," I said in a hesitant tone. "Are you sure she's okay?" I breathed as I neared him a bit.

"I'm fine," the girl quipped. "Well, I'm getting there…anyways," she admitted. "I know I'm…not at all well," she told us. "But that's why I'm here, right?" she asked as she turned her head to Dr. Reid. "He already…says I'm doing better."

"That's good," Sam told her.

She smiled. "I'm a lucky kid," she trilled as she clapped her hands together happily. The three of us laughed and she laughed for a moment too. The nurse walked back in then with two blankets and a cup in her hand.

"Hey, Grace, do-"

"Gracey," she reminded Dr. Reid as she turned to look over at him slowly.

He smiled at her. "Gracey, do you like milk?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes," she exclaimed in a hoarse tone. "Especially chocolate milk, like the milk container with the cow with the brown polka…dots on it," she said.

The nurse handed the cup to Dr. Reid and she started spreading more covers on Gracey. "Would you like some chocolate milk?" he asked her with a soft smile.

I turned to Sam and smiled. "She's cute though," I murmured softly.

"She is," Sam agreed quietly.

She tilted her face towards us. "Thank you," she said. "And yes…I would," she said happily as she stretched out a hand but frowned as it dropped.

Her body was very weak, that I could tell just by listening to her speak and watching her move. I hoped that she would get stronger because I decided that I liked her. She was cute and she seemed so happy.

"Here then," Dr. Reid told her as he placed the cup near her. "Both hands," he told her in an instructive tone.

"Both hands," she echoed as she reached her hands out and placed them on the cup. The cup had a sealed top over it that looked like if you dropped it, the contents wouldn't spill out. She took the cup and held it to her face and sipped from the small straw.

She giggled after she pulled away. "Yummy," she murmured before taking another sip. "Wait, am I allowed to drink this? My last doctor said no," she said as she looked to her side. "He said that….if I stayed…away from dairy products…that I'd do better," she said.

"Yes, you can have it and you can have even more things after time as you come off some of these machines," he told her. "So, in maybe a week or so."

"Oh," she breathed before taking another large sip of the chocolate milk. The nurse left then and Dr. Reid scribbled something down on his notepad. "Where's my book?" she asked suddenly, dropping her cup onto the bed and looking to one of the side tables. "It's…not here anymore?"

"What book?" Dr. Reid asked.

"Cinderella," she said in a seemingly annoyed tone. "It was…here," she said as she pointed to the table with her little finger. "I know it. Where…is it now?" she asked.

"I don't know, Gracey," Dr. Reid told her as he continued to write things down on the paper.

She pouted then, like a pout that I had seen kids pull off on those TV shows and movies. "But I like that book," she stammered as she shuffled her feet underneath the covers.

"We can get the book for you," I said then.

She stopped her movements and looked up at me. "Oh, no, you don't have to," she murmured as she rested back into the pillows.

"It's not a big deal at all. We can get it for you and bring it back the next time we visit," Sam chimed in with a soft smile. His arm wrapped around my waist and I couldn't help the grin that plastered itself on my face.

She gasped and a wide smile crossed her features. "You'll come visit…me again?" she asked. "Oh, I'd like that," she quipped as Dr. Reid grabbed the cup that had been lying on top of her and placed it on the table.

"Sure," Sam told her.

"Tomorrow?" she asked us with hopeful eyes. "I like you two," she told us.

Sam and I shared a quick look and then nodded. "Tomorrow," he told her. "And we'll come with your book," he added.

"Oh, thank you, thank you," she said happily before her body racked with coughs again. "I'd like that…a lot," she said as she nodded her head. She sighed then and her eyes drooped a bit. "I'm tired," she commented.

"I'd say so, you've been up for a while for you," Dr. Reid told her with a happy smile. "Would you like to go to sleep now or visit with them some more?" he asked her as he stood and walked over to some of the machinery.

She huffed and frowned. "Oh, um…" she mumbled as she took a deep breath and looked at the two of us with sad eyes.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Sam told her again.

She blinked a few times. "You promise?"

"Yes, promise," he said to her.

"Pinky promise," she said as she stuck out her pinky from where her hand rested on the bed.

Sam laughed and neared her and I stood there in confusion. What was a pinky promise?

I watched as Sam hooked his pinky around her own and she shook her hand briefly. "Come on, you too," she said with a happy smile as she looked up at me. Sam took my hand and pulled me forward and I did exactly what he did. Once we pulled away she giggled. "No crosses count," she told us before she yawned. "I'm ready now," she told Dr. Reid. He flipped a switch on a panel and she lay in the bed, waiting. "Bye bye for now," she told us.

And within about twenty seconds, she fell asleep, seemingly on command.

Dr. Reid turned to look at us. "She's just adorable, isn't she?" he asked.

"She is," Sam said and I merely nodded.

"Overtime she will get better. Today in comparison to yesterday is very good signs to that. I'm hoping that within a week she'll be off of all of these monitors and she'll be eating normal foods and drinks again. I think that this'll work."

"Where does she go after she is released from the hospital?" Sam asked him.

Dr. Reid beckoned for us to follow him and with one last glance at the girl; we left the room and started walking down the hall again. "That won't be for another two weeks at the least but she will go back to her adoption center of a foster family until a family adopts her," he answered.

Sam frowned. "But isn't that dangerous? You said that she could become similar to Quorra. Won't her family have to know what's going on?" he asked.

"Well yes, this is why she'll be at the adoption center or foster family for a bit of time. I'll have to find a family that will be willing to listen and understand. If she got in the wrong hands you could say goodbye to not only the girl, but possibly Quorra too. If she changes like I believe will happen, she'll be like a modified child, sort of like a few steps down from Quorra," he started. "She'll get smarter over time and obviously, her senses are heightening now because I didn't hear things the two of you were saying yet she did."

Sam glanced over at me and I could see worry building in his eyes. "I barely know that girl and you're saying that she could be the reason why something happens to Quorra?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"Sam, stop it," I murmured as we continued down the hall and stopped in the empty lobby.

"You have to trust me, Sam. I won't let anything happen to her or that girl for that matter. But that'll be a while from now so don't worry about it now. I already know some people that are experienced with these types of things that wouldn't mind adopting a little girl," he added.

Sam sighed but then nodded. "Alright."

"I will be here early in the morning and late in the evening to check on her tomorrow but you two can come at any time since you're on her visitation list. Make sure to bring sanitation wipes with you though if you plan to interact with her more than you did today. She's getting better but her immune system is still pretty weak," he told us.

"Got it," Sam said.

"Alright then, I'll see you two tomorrow, maybe. Have a nice day," he said as he started to turn.

"You too," we both murmured as we started to walk away from him. We walked out of the hospital and got into our car that was parked in the deck on the visiting side.

"To the beach?" Sam asked me as he backed out of the parking space and started to drive out of the lot.

"Yes, to the beach," I said happily as I put on a pair of sunglasses. "What beach are we going to?" I asked him.

He shook his head at me. "Now that is a surprise," he told me with a grin as he started to accelerate through the streets. "But I promise that it'll be fun, Q," he added as he watched me frown.

We drove along the busy streets for about an hour before Sam turned onto a long quiet rode that was sand on one side and rocks on the other. I had never seen a beach like this before. Actually, I couldn't even see the water; it was just a bunch of rock. "I don't' see any water," I told him as we continued to drive on the narrow road.

"It's on the other side of the rocks," he told me with a shrug. He turned into a small parking lot and turned the car off, getting out and popping the trunk open. I got out of the car and he handed me my tote bag. "You can change in the car if you'd like, or we can go back to option one," he told me as he squeezed my hips.

I rolled my eyes at him and took the bag from him. "And you?" I asked as I started to walk away from him.

"I'm already prepared," he told me with a laugh. "I'll meet you right over there, okay? I promise I won't peak," he added as he turned and walked away.

I changed into my black and white polka dotted bikini bathing suit and stepped out of the car. I walked over to where Sam stood, sitting on part of the rock structure with his back facing me. "Ready," I told him as he turned around.

"Ready to do a little scaling?" He asked me with a grin as he stood and started stepping up the giant mountain-like rock structure.

"I don't have any shoes on," I told him.

He chuckled and grasped my hand. "You don't need shoes, babe. It's not that hard," he told me as we started making our way up the hill. As we made our way up I could start to hear the sound of waves crashing from somewhere below me.

I looked over at Sam's bare chest and noticed that the chip that normally hung around his neck was gone.

We continued up the hill until we reach the top part. "Come on," Sam said to me with a wide grin. "This is the best part," he went on as he walked up to a ledge.

I walked up behind him and looked down with wide eyes. I gasped audibly. "Wow, it's so pretty. We're so high up," I murmured from behind him.

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to him. "Yeah, I used to come here a lot when I was stressed out. It always seemed to help," he sighed. "You just feel so high and on top of the world," he murmured as he closed his eyes.

"It seems so…peaceful," I breathed as I rested a head against his bare shoulder.

He opened his eyes then and turned me towards him. He pressed his lips against mine and tightened his grip around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back fervently. I could feel the wind blowing through my hair and I could feel it brush against my skin. It was almost cold. After a few moments of my bliss, I pulled away from him and smiled. "Ready to jump?" he asked me softly.

"What?" I asked him in confusion.

He chuckled. "I said we're going swimming. We're going to jump in," he told me with a smile. "Unless you're scared," he taunted.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not but you're going first," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Okay, my scared Quorra," he said to me.

"I'm not scared, Sam Flynn," I said again as I looked down. "What if we hit the rocks?" I asked him. "We could get hurt."

He sighed and shook his head. "I've done it a lot; it's really deep down there. Just jump outwards so you don't hit the siding of the rock on the way down," he said as he took a few steps back.

I nodded and watched as he ran and then jumped over the edge. I gasped as I watched him fall into the water and finally hit it with a splash. He disappeared for a moment and I wondered where he was before he resurfaced.

"Come on, Quorra!" he called to me as he swam to the side. "I'm waiting for you!" he called as he looked up at me.

My heart raced as I took about five steps back. I took a deep breath and then ran forwards, jumping outwards over the ledge. I screamed as I felt the air rush against me quickly. It felt like my stomach was dropping.

Within a few moments of being airborne, I hit the water with a loud splash. As soon as I hit the water, I continued to go under and I realized how incredibly cold the water was. I came back up to the surface of the water to see Sam about three feet from me. "That's my girl," he said with a grin. His hair clung to his face, ears, and neck and I could see the droplets of salt water on his skin.

"The water is so cold," I exclaimed as I swam closer to him.

"I like it," he told me. "It's kind of like a shock that definitely wakes you up," he went on.

I laughed and he grabbed my legs underwater, pulling them against his sides as he did so. "Was that fun?" he asked me as he positioned me so I was practically sitting on top of him.

I let my hands fall onto his shoulders and smiled. "Yes, it was fun," I admitted as I ran my fingers through my wet hair.

Sam gently kissed me then and let his hands roam over my bare back. I sank against his form and tangled my fingers into his messy wet hair. He sucked against my lower lip and I moaned softly, pulling against the hair at the back of his neck. I felt his tongue slip into my mouth then and I felt his hands move to my sides. He picked me up a little more in his arms so my body was now flush against his own. He pulled away and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Are you comfortable?" he asked me with a caring smile.

I wiped the salty water from my face and rested my head against his shoulder. "I couldn't be any more comfortable," I breathed.

"Good, because I'm going to show you something," he told me.

"Like what?" I asked him curiously as he started treading water slowly with me in his arms. "There's nothing but water, rocks, and sand," I murmured.

He didn't answer me though and kept treading water. I noticed that we were slowly nearing the rocks and I finally noticed a small opening. "A…cave…?" I asked him with surprised features. "Don't bats and monsters live in those?" I asked him uncertainty.

He laughed aloud then. "I thought we were over those curious and dumb questions," he told me with a teasing grin. "I'm going to have to monitor what you watch on TV if you keep making assumptions like that," he went as he squeezed my hips. "No, it's just a cave. Sure, there could be bats but I've never seen them in this one before…it's not deep enough, and don't even get me started on the monster part," he finished with a smug smile.

"It sounded like a valid question," I quipped honestly. Sam gripped my body a bit tighter and then stood up in the water, standing about chest length in the water. He positioned me so an arm was around my back and one was around my legs. "I can walk on my own, you know?" I asked him as I poked his shoulder a few times.

"I know that, but you minus well get used to it," he said as he neared the cave. "Keep in mind that I'm supposed to pick you up like this on our wedding night," he reminded me as he gave me a meaningful look. "I don't want to mess up then. I mean, what if I drop you?" he asked me with a mock serious face.

I laughed. "Well…I wouldn't mind that much, accidents happen but I think I have a different point of view from the average human newlywed woman," I added with a shrug.

Sam chuckled and shook his head at me and stopped in front of the cave. He set me down on my feet and I felt the lapping water reach just below my knees. "Gosh, this water is so chilly," I murmured as I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix it.

"Yep, that's pacific coast water for you. I'll take you to Florida so you can experience some warm water," he promised me as he took my hand and led me inside the cave. "I found this place when I was nine and when I ran away from home, sometimes I'd come here," he said to me with a sheepish grin.

"Why would you run away?" I asked him.

"That's just what I did when I was younger…I was the kid that had no parents and got into trouble, well, I still was that until a couple of months ago. But I like coming here," he answered. "I'd sometimes bring my friends here when I was in high school and early college and we'd get wasted and-"

"Wasted?" I asked him curiously as I started to look around. "I thought the drinking age was 21?" I pondered.

"It is and was…" he mumbled sheepishly as I walked away from him and looked at the water pouring from a rock. "I told you, I wasn't the best kid to hang around with," he said.

I nodded. "I see."

"When I was eleven, I brought my best friend here when we were supposed to be at her house," he said. His voice echoed around the cave and I couldn't help but smile. "And then when I was seventeen I brought a girlfriend here because I thought it would be fun…it wasn't," he rambled in a mumbling tone.

"Hmm….girlfriend…" I murmured as I continued to walk along. "From what I have learned from books and movies, that's supposed to make me jealous, no?" I asked him as I turned to stare at him for a moment. "I'm supposed to be annoyed or angry that you brought me to the same placed as her for a date…" I said quietly.

Sam made a noise. "Well, that would be the reaction of most girls…" he said as he scratched his head and made an apologetic face.

"But what is jealous? Why would I be jealous?" I asked him curiously as I continued to walk away from him, admiring the pretty scenery. "I don't believe I've felt that one yet. Can I just be it?" I asked him as I spun around and faced him. "I'm jealous, I am…jealous," I tried as I stared at him.

Sam gave me a wide smile and he looked like he was surprised. "It doesn't work like that you know," he said as he walked over to me.

"Why not?" I asked him with interest. "I can't' just be an emotion? I say I'm happy because I am but I can't say I'm jealous because…?" I continued.

He continued to walk up to me and placed his hands on my sides immediately, pushing me backwards until my back hit against the rough surface. I squeaked when my body registered the coldness of the stone. "You have to feel it. Jealousy is sort of like envy except a little more self-centered I guess you can say," he told me as he rubbed his hands against my sides. "But I didn't come here to talk to you about jealousy," he added as he pressed his forehead against mine.

I smiled slightly and tilted my head to the side. "Some other time then," I murmured as I wrapped my arms around his neck and Sam moved his body closer against my own.

I kissed him then and I felt that small warmth that I always felt when we kissed. I felt his hands glide the curve of my body and I felt my body shudder but this time I didn't know if it was solely because of him or because I was a bit cold too. I parted my lips slightly and he sucked on my lip, biting it gently as he did so. He pressed more against me as his tongue passed between our parted lips. "Ow," I breathed as I tried to shift against something that was jabbing into my back.

Sam seemed to get the message because he picked me up into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and I felt us sink to the ground. I squealed as I felt us lay on the ground and I opened my eyes once Sam pulled his lips from mine. "Don't stop," I told him breathily after taking a deep breath.

"I wasn't planning on it. We've barely started," he told me as he fingered a few strands of my hair. I positioned myself on top of him so I was straddling his hips. I sat up fully and looked down at him lying there so relaxed. I smiled as I traced my fingers against his face and over his lips, down his chest and then against his abs. His hands remained on my hips and he was staring up at me with adoring eyes. I grinned down at him, pressing my hands against his chest and slowly sliding my hip area against his own. My body shuddered and I felt a wetness in my crotch as I felt something hard press up against me groin area. He heaved a staggering sigh and forced my body down against him. "What was that?" he breathed against my ear in a deep whisper.

"Did I do that wrong?" I asked him suddenly nervous at my actions. "It was supposed to feel good," I said in a confused tone.

"It did…" he mumbled as I felt his hands slide to rest on my butt. "You're such a little antagonizing monster," he said hoarsely as he squeezed gently. I gasped as I felt heat sear throughout my body. "That's right, two can play that game," he said into my ear before placing a few kisses on my neck.

In the next moment, I was on my back and Sam was hovering over me. I giggled as he pressed his lips down the side of my neck and then my collarbone. He pressed his body against mine and move ly legs around a bit as I let my hands rest on his shoulders. I let the roam lazily over his bare skin as he started to trail kisses down the midline between my breasts. I moaned as he placed his hands over the rise of my breasts and squeezed them gently. He fiddled with the fabric before he his lips came back to meet mine.

"I love you," he breathed against my lips before he pressed another kiss to my lips. I felt his hand trail down my stomach and it slipped underneath the fabric of my bikini. I squealed as I felt the coldness of his fingers press up against me.

He took me by surprise by his next actions though. He pulled his lips as well as his hands away from me then and rolled off of me, so quickly that I couldn't stop him. "Are you-"

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Sam, this isn't fair, you promised me weeks ago," I breathed as I sat up and looked at him.

He looked away from me and tangled his fingers in his hair. "I know I did, but I can't do this to you, not yet. You're not ready," he stated in surrender.

"Way to ruin the moment," I grumbled as I half glared at him. "You aren't the one to decide if I'm ready or not," I said in an increasingly irritated tone. "I am."

He stood and walked away from me a few steps, finally turning to face me. "You asked that we try, Quorra and that's what we did. You got scared; I saw it in your eyes. What do you expect me to do? Keep going?" he asked me in a helpless tone. "I won't do that to you."

"I wasn't scared," I insisted as I stood as well and stared at him.

"You were."

"I wasn't!"

Sam looked worried and I crossed my around over my chest. "I don't want to scare you; I don't want to hurt you. I could lose you if I did that," he said in a quieted tone as he turned away from me.

"Lose me how?" I asked him as I took a few hesitant steps towards him.

"You'll be afraid of me, or don't want something like that with me," he said in a louder voice. "I mean, I could understand that if you wanted it that way but not after I did that."

I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him behind. "You know that won't happen," I said as I poked my head around his arm to peer at his troubled face.

"I want you to be sure about this. It's only been seven months and I want everything to be perfect for you," he said to me. "You know I'm crazy about you but please…do this one thing for me," he breathed as he turned and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Just wait until we get married," he said with pleading eyes.

My shoulders slumped slight but I stared up at him. "I thought you weren't all over these so called morals," I murmured with a slight smile.

"With you, I will be," he said. "You're that important to me," he breathed as he leaned in to kiss my forehead. "You know I don't mind…doing things with you but I'm trying to do this right for you," he said to me.

I sighed and brushed my fingers through his hair. "If it's that important to you, fine," I murmured. "But don't go back on your promise when I say I do," I said as I shivered.

"I don't plan on it," he stated as he took my hand and led me out of the small cave. "You cold?" he asked me softly.

"A bit," I admitted as I felt the sun hit my skin again.

"Wait here and I'll go get a blanket from the car. We still have about an hour and a half until sunset," he told me. "And I brought some snacks," he added as he led me though a small patch of water and then onto a sandy part of the beach.

I nodded. "Okay," I said as he let go of my hand and started to head towards a walkway. I turned away from him but then turned back to see him walking away. "And Sam?" I asked.

He stopped and looked at me. "Yes?" he asked me with one of his crooked smiles.

"I love you too."

_**So? What'd you think? I know I said that I'd have some Quorra/Sam major love scenes but I felt like that was where most of her innocence came from in my stories with her curiosity about love and Sam and her interact as a cuople, so...looks like they're going to kick it traditional style but don't dorry, there will be plenty of intense love scenes in the story! (: Anyways, Please reveiw and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Why do you think there's a little girl suddenly in the mix? hahaha...only i know :D**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**I'm back...lol**_

_**Enjoy, everyone!**_

Chpater 3

Let's Cherish the Moment

Sam P.O.V.

"Do you really have to go?" Gracey asked as she hopped up onto her child-sized hospital bed and swung her small legs over onto the comforters. "I don't want you to leave just yet," she admitted as she pouted, gaping up at Quorra and I with persuasive eyes.

Today was the first Saturday that Gracey had a freer schedule. She was now allowed to be checked out of the hospital for a five hour period three times a week. Dr. Reid suggested that we spend the day with her so she could get out of the hospital for a while. She had spent the last couple months of her life in a hospital and I knew that she was eager to get away for a while. Anyone would be.

Normally, Quorra and I would visit her two to four times per week, usually coming to drop by after work at ENCOM or to spend the day with her entirely during the weekend. We would play board games, bring little surprises for her, and do the various things that she loved to do.

Gracey had grown on Quorra and she was always excited to drop by and spend time with the little five year old. She wanted to learn more about children and Gracey gave her that opportunity to do so. I enjoyed watching the two of them interact. They seemed to understand one another without even speaking, which sort of infuriated me at times. I had no idea if it was the link that they had to one another but even if that wasn't the case, they still enjoyed one another's company.

She was a complete joy to be around. She was so energetic, so happy, but still so polite and sweet that it melted my heart. She was like the perfect example of the flawless child that people can deal with without problems.

We had taken her to the park, Build-A-Bear, American Girl, and a candy shop that had practically all types of candy imaginable. She met my dog, Marvin, and the two of them were fast friends. She walked him and played fetch with him until my poor dog was exhausted. It was funny, really.

She was so easy to take care of and be around. Those reasons made me more confident in the decision that Quorra and I had made about five days ago. We were going to adopt her.

Quorra had first thought of the idea and at the beginning; I had completely disagreed with her. We were both so young and Gracey was a kid that wanted a real family that knew what they were doing, which we couldn't give her. After a while though, Quorra started to convince me, as well as Lora, Alan, and Dr. Reid that this was the best idea for Gracey and for Quorra. They would be safer if they stuck together. It was better than trusting a new family with the secret that Quorra wasn't really human and that Gracey was a miracle child.

We would bring her home next week, after the apartment had an evaluation to make sure that it was child friendly. Quorra had been obsessing over that all week, looking things up online, reading articles and books, until she was sure that everything was okay.

We were working on her bedroom still which used to be the spare room that we didn't know what to do with. The main colors of the room were a light purple and yellow. Quorra picked out a white bunk bed set that had an adjoining desk to it, Lora picked out a few pieces of furniture that kids like but we could use as well when we were in her room, and Alan and I took care of the lighting and electronics that we wanted in her room.

Quorra and I were going for something that she would love without a doubt but also have the qualities of a young child's bedroom. I think we nailed it though.

Gracey had no idea that we had adopted her. Dr. Reid wanted it to be a surprise for her and he didn't want her getting too excited because her body was still, in some aspects, kind of weak even though it had been over a month since she had begun recovering.

Quorra's trilling voice brought me out of my thoughts. "We'll be back next week, I promise," she murmured as Dr. Reid stuck her with a needle so he could draw blood. "Maybe even before then if we can. I had a lot of fun today," she added with a large grin.

Gracey huffed. "Dr. Reid said I have a surprise coming my way but won't tell me. Do you know what it is too?" she asked, her tone slightly accusing.

I chuckled and nodded briefly. "Sorry, doctors' orders, Gracey," I said as I wrapped an arm around Quorra. "But I will say that you'll like the surprise, hopefully," I added.

She rolled her eyes. "Not helpful at all, but at least it's something compared to the silent treatment that Doctor gives me when I bring it up," she stated as she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him.

Quorra and I laughed aloud as Dr. Reid stood. "You two need to hurry off, visiting hours ended about fifteen minutes ago. The staff doesn't like it when I keep my out-of-hospital patients here after hours. "Gracey, say your goodbyes. You need to be off to bed soon."

Gracey sighed but got off of the bed and waltzed gracefully over to the two of us. "Thank you so much for taking me out today, I had so much fun!" she said as she looked up at me and then Quorra. She lifted her arms up towards her and Quorra bent down a bit awkwardly and picked her up. She was still getting acquainted with that gesture. Gracey whispered something in her ear and Quorra laughed shyly.

"I promise, of course," she said happily as she looked over at me with her beautiful blue eyes. Gracey looked over at me too with a similar expression and it almost floored me at how similar they looked. If I didn't know either of them, I would think they were directly related.

She reached out for me then and I carefully pulled her from Quorra's arms. It was amazing at how comfortable with her I was. "Tell Marvin I'm sorry for almost giving him chocolate," she quipped with a small grimace.

"You didn't know, it's alright," I assured her easily. She wiggled a bit in my arms and I set her down, moving closer to Quorra once more.

"Bye bye," she said as she waved her fingers at us. "Please come back soon, it's so boring here. No offense, Dr. Reid."

Dr. Reid laughed. "It's quite alright, my dear," he said before he directed his attention to us. "Let me walk you two out. Gracey, I'll be back soon. I'll send a nurse in to give you your medication."

After a minute, the three of us were walking down the hall to the main level. "Everything will be ready by Tuesday, so theoretically you could take her home then but you'll take her home on Friday because I'm going to run a few more tests on Wednesday and Thursday."

I nodded as I squeezed Quorra's hand. I could feel excitement rolling off of her in steady waves.

"The two of you will do fine, and I know that she will behave for you two," he added with a smile as he stopped at the front desk. "Her paperwork and medications will be sent when the two nurses come for the evaluation. I'm going to try and get her off of a few of them so it will be less of a burden on you two and I think that she will be fine without them," he said as he started writing things down. "We can go over things more next week, but I do have to go, have a nice evening," he finished as he picked up the clipboard and took a step backwards.

"You too," Quorra and I echoed at the same time before we turned and strode out of the main entrance of the hospital.

Quorra and I walked in silence to the car and I got into the driver's seat as Quorra got in on the other side. "You know, I'm not as tired as I thought I would be after today. She's really easy to handle," Quorra commented as I started to drive down the busy streets of Los Angeles. "And oh my goodness…chocolate is so good!" she squealed with a delighted sigh. "I've never had that type of chocolate before."

I chuckled as I continued to drive. "I'm glad you liked it," I said to her. "You're becoming more and more like the typical woman, you know?" I pondered as I glanced over at her.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Typical as in?"

"Women like chocolate…not big fans of surprises, love to cuddle, yes, I have noticed that," I added with a sly grin in her direction. "You're practically obsessed with your appearance," I murmured.

"I am not," she said in defiance as she looked out the window. "And anyways, it wouldn't be such a big deal if people I don't even know are watching me and then making false accusations about me," she murmured with a sniff. "I'm not pregnant…why do they say that I'm showing a baby bump? Does that mean I'm getting fat or something?" she asked me.

When Quorra had been reading a new magazine in the lobby earlier today, she had come across an article about the two of us, showing a picture of her holding her stomach. The headline read: CEO Couple Heir-Bound?

I shook my head at her. "They're just rumors and no, you're not getting fat, I've seen that cute little four pack of yours on occasions to attest to that," I answered with a smile.

She giggled and leaned up against the window. She frowned suddenly as she peered outside of it. "Where are we going?" she asked me. "You missed the turn to our apartment."

I nodded slightly. "I know," I answered with a smile.

"Well…?" she asked as she turned her head towards me. I saw her eyes narrow a bit as she half glared at me.

"A place," I responded with a shrug.

"Like…?"

"Not telling."

She let out a frustrated groan and then whined aloud. "That's not fair," she told me as she pouted. "I don't like surprises," she mumbled.

"We'll be there soon," I said as I continued down the streets, slowly leaving the Los Angeles boundaries. "And stop pretending that you don't like surprises. When have I ever disappointed you, baby? You know you're about to get spoiled rotten," I drawled smoothly, giving her a quick dashing smile.

She laughed and shook her head, settling back into her seat and relaxing once more. The remaining car ride was silent for the most part, until we pulled into the hotel complex that I had booked for the night.

We got out of the car and I grabbed the small suitcase from in the trunk. "So what is the occasion?" Quorra asked as I took her hand and led her inside. "I don't believe that May 24th holds any significance," she murmured.

"It doesn't, but it's my last weekend with you all to myself, did you know that?" I asked as we walked up to the front desk. Our conversation stopped momentarily as we stopped in front of the desk.

A man that looked like he was in his early twenties turned around to help us. I held back the glare towards him as he gaped at Quorra for a couple of seconds. I quickly checked the two of us in and then briskly led Quorra to the elevator.

Quorra raised her eyebrows as we walked into the elevator. "Yes, I know that but I didn't know that was important," she said in a confused tone.

We rode up to one of the top floors and stepped out of the elevator. "Stop putting so much thought into everything, I just wanted to surprise you. We haven't done anything really fun in a while," I told her with a smile.

"That's true," Quorra agreed softly before she giggled. "But I think that's because you were so busy this week at ENCOM."

I nodded but gritted my teeth in slight annoyance. "It would've been a little more helpful if Dillinger informed me that he was going out of the country instead of leaving everyone hanging for a week," I grumbled.

I stopped in front of the hotel room and pulled the key card out of my pocket before opening the door. We walked into the large hotel suite and I let the door close shut as I set down the suitcase. I grinned as Quorra walked into the room. "Sam…" I heard her breath from the other room before I came in to join her.

A dozen roses rested on the bedside table while a blanket that I had gotten custom made rested on the bed. The blanket was a scarlet red and read 'I love you' in golden cursive letters. "I have one more thing for you," I said as I pulled a velvet box out of my pocket.

She frowned in confusion. "I already have an engagement ring though, I don't believe I'm supposed to get a wedding ring yet, right?" she asked a bit nervously.

"No, other pieces of jewelry come in small boxes too," I said as I popped it open to reveal a golden charm that read 'Mom' on it.

She smiled as I took it out and took her wrist in my other hand, fastening it on the bracelet right next to her book charm.

"I've needed to fill this up," I murmured as I leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I love you," I breathed against her soft skin.

"I love you," she whispered back as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She looked up at me with her wide blue eyes. "Why do you insist on spoiling me rotten?" she asked me.

"Because you deserve to be given everything that you're heart desires and much more," I answered easily as I picked up a few strands of her hair. "I like spoiling you anyways, if you haven't noticed."

She laughed and leaned in to kiss my cheek. "I do kind of like it, it's sweet. It makes me feel…um…bad sometimes though because I never know what to get you," she admitted honestly.

I leaned my head against her own and wrapped my arms a bit tighter around her waist. "You have given me everything I could've wanted and more."

"That sounds very…cheesy, you know?" she asked me with a small laugh.

"It may sound cheesy, but it's more than true. I'm marrying you in less than half of a year. I love everything about you. You're so perfect; so genuine, so loving, and not to mention this sexy body that you come wrapped up in," I told her as I kissed the tip of her nose. "And those wildly provocative clothes that you wear that will get you into major trouble after you say the words 'I do.'"

She beamed up at me very innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Samuel Flynn," she stated as her eyes seemed to flash in the dim lighting. "And that sounds like a threat but I know that you wouldn't dare," she teased me.

"Oh, but I would, it's called payback, my lovely ISO," I murmured as I hugged her to me. She giggled again but then sighed and I felt her body seem to relax even more.

"You think I'll be a good mom?" she asked me softly.

I lowered my head towards hers. "Of course I do, I wouldn't doubt that for a second."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am."

She hugged me then, her soft and slim body pressing up against mine gently. She let her head rest against the left side of my chest and I heard her breathe a sigh. I wrapped my arms around her torso and placed my chin on top of hers softly. "You're right, I do love cuddling," she said with a giggle as she tilted her head up to face me. "I feel so warm…so protected," she went on. "By you."

I picked her up bridal style then and quickly tossed her onto the large king sized bed before she could wrap her arms around me again. She yelped in surprise as she went airborne and then landed on the soft comforters. She turned onto her side so she was positioned in the center of the bed and grabbed the plush blanket, wrapping herself into it. She gazed at me expectantly and I took off my lightweight jacket.

"So much for feeling protected," she told me with a fake saddened expression.

"You know I'll always protect you," I reminded her as I joined her on the bed and lay on my side as well so I was facing her. She reached her hand out, running her fingers through my blond hair. She leaned in and kissed me then, letting her hand fall to rest on my neck.

She pulled away from me after a few moments and turned so her back was facing me. She pushed herself up against my chest and I wrapped my arm around her out of instinct. "Will you tell me a story?" she asked me softly as she turned her head upwards so she could stare at me.

"About what? I've told you so many," I responded as I kissed the top of her nose.

She twined her fingers with mine and pressed them against her side. "I don't know, Sam Flynn. How about…" she trailed off in an unsure tone and I wondered what she was going to say next. "Tell me about your mother. You never talk about her," she murmured.

I sighed and shook my head. I ran my fingers through her soft hair and then found her hand once more, waiting for mine as usual. "I never really knew her, Quorra. I was two when she died in the car accident."

"Is human memory really that bad?" she asked me quizzically. "Do you remember anything about her?" she continued.

I shook my head again. "I used to remember her voice…but that slowly left as I grew older. We had pictures of her and my grandparents told me all about her but I don't remember anything for myself," I sighed. "It's so messed up…"

"No, it's not," she told me with a light hint of defiance coloring her tone. "It's not like it's your fault, you couldn't do anything about it. You were young," she murmured as she turned around again to face me again, letting her hand move down the length of my arm in the process. "Accidents happen."

"That's the thing…" I started as I looked away from her and moved to rest on my back so I was staring up at the ceiling. "Those so called 'accidents' keep happening to all of the people around me. I don't even know why it always happens to me, it just does," I mumbled. "I'm surprised you're still here," I breathed. "Originally, I wanted to keep my distance from you so I wouldn't get close to you. I couldn't just destroy my father's last miracle just by being around you," I started. "But I didn't want to be rude or mean, I didn't want to push you away, I didn't want to hurt you. I've been that guy before and you deserved better than that.

Quorra was silent so I just continued talking. "So…I decided to protect you instead…but I'm not doing a very good job, am I?"

"I don't need to be protected," she whispered as I felt her breath tickle my neck. I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it gently before letting my hand fall over her stomach.

"Whether you think you do or don't, I still will. I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. I can't imagine what things would be like if I were to lose you, it's-"

"Then don't try to," she told me in a sudden tone. "Please? I'm going to be here, I'm not going to disappear on you. Where would I go?" she asked me.

I looked over at her to see her frowning, her porcelain white face pursed and creased as she seemed to ponder over something. I studied her for a moment before wrapping an arm around her. "I'll stop, I'm sorry, we're supposed to be having a good time and here I am worrying you," I said.

"No…you're not. I like talking about everything with you. It's just…so strange for someone to care about me this much. At times, it's a bit hard to understand," she told me with a soft smile.

I chuckled softly. "You deserve to be cherished and to be cared for to no end."

"I still can't believe that I never knew that any of this existed at one point. Then I read all of those books that Flynn had and I could understand, at a mental level, about the complexities of feeling and emotions, but I could never understand them myself physically or emotionally until I came here. I could feel…so much more…" she breathed with wide eyes. "Understand everything first hand, I could see it and…react…"

I smiled over at her. "So…you really couldn't feel things on the Grid like you do here?" I asked her.

"No, I don't know if it was because of my lack of knowledge about the unknown or that my circuitry didn't allow for such complexities for emotional state…it's amazing," she murmured. "And I don't know how we went from talking about your mother to this," she added with a light grin.

We both laughed aloud. I got on top of her then and gazed at her for a few seconds. She gazed back at me with the same expression and I could see the corners of her lips turning into a larger smile. "What would you like to do? I brought you here so we could do something different together, not lay in bed all night…not that I don't mind," I added before kissing her chin gently.

"This bed is so comfortable though and after all, this is your last weekend all alone with me….all alone," she murmured as she wrapped her hands around my neck. "We've been so busy this week too," she added with a small pout.

She didn't have to say anything else, of she didn't, she knew that. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, and finally her lips, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away. She moved her hands from around my neck to underneath my shirt, pulling it up and over my head in one quick easy motion. "You know what I think?" I asked her as I popped two buttons open on her blouse.

"That you should just keep your shirt off?" she asked me with a giggle as she ran her cool fingers over my chest.

I chuckled and kissed her quickly. "No," I murmured as I flicked open to more buttons. "You wear too much lace," I commented as I noticed the white colored lace bra that she was wearing.

"You don't seem to mind," she shot back lightly as she helped me pull herself out of the blouse.

I wasted no time in kissing her again, letting my hands trail over her exposed skin. I let my fingers trail over the fabric of her bra and then move towards the zipper to her skinny jeans. She tangled her fingers in my hair as I undid the zipper and started pushing the fabric down her smooth legs. She helped kick them off and I tossed them to the side of the room as she straddled her legs on either side of me.

I pulled my lips from hers and I chuckled as she let out a frustrated huff. I moved my lips to her neck and spent a good few moments kissing and gently nipping at the soft and smooth skin there. She giggled as I kissed the spot behind her ear and I felt her shiver slightly.

After a minute or two of her body wrapped around mine and our lips twined together, I rolled off of her and onto my side. She smiled over at me softly before I sat up and leaned against the headboard to the bed. She copied me but came to position herself in my lap easily. I wrapped the blanket around her half bare body and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "You're so beautiful," I told her as I wrapped my arms around her form.

She laughed somewhat shyly and ducked her head a little bit. "I like that you take me places. I get to explore this world," she murmured as she leaned her head onto my shoulder.

"This is just the beginning, I have so many things planned for us later on this year," I stated as I turned on the entertainment system to play some background music. "We're going to go on a summer vacation in mid-June I believe. I'm thinking Florida, Hawaii, The Virgin Islands, or Costa Rica. Maybe a combination of a few," I added with a shrug. "And I'm going to absolutely spoil you rotten on our honeymoon. I'm going to take you all around the world, sweetheart."

She gasped happily. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm slowly getting that planned but I know that we'll love it," I said to her.

"Oh, that's so exciting!" she squealed happily before leaning up to kiss my lips quickly. "We should take Gracey to Disney Land sometime," she went on. "I really want to see that place too. There are so many commercials about it!"

I chuckled and tightened my arms around her. "I'll take you anywhere," I murmured. "Would you like something to eat? We haven't had dinner yet," I reminded her as I let my fingers caress her right cheek.

She shook her head at me. "I'm not hungry, Sam Flynn," she answered with a soft smile.

"Anything to drink?" I prodded as I picked her up off of my lap and set her onto the bed. I stood and walked over to the wet bar.

"What did you think of me when we first met?" she asked me suddenly as I was bending over to grab a bottle of champagne and sparkling cider.

The question caught me a bit off guard and when I turned to face her, all I could see was the sexy woman sitting on the bed barely wearing any clothes with a blanket draped lazily around her. "What do you mean?" I asked her curiously as I moved closer to the bed again.

"On the Grid, what did you think of me then?" she asked me with a inquiring look. "Did you love me then?" she asked me as she looked off to nowhere in particular. "Did you have the feelings that you do now for me, then?" she went on.

"No," I said all too quickly and then I grimaced as her eyes widened a bit in what seemed to be hurt. "I mean…it doesn't happen like that, you know that. Of course I thought you were attractive but I didn't know you, Q," I answered her softly. "And at first, when you had that helmet thing on, I sort of thought you were a guy," I added sheepishly.

"Why would you think that?" she asked me with a tiny laugh.

"This may sound sexist so…don't get mad," I murmured as I sat down on the bed and then fell back onto it. "Most girls don't drive like that…the way you did and still do."

I heard her laugh and then I heard movement as she neared me. The next thing I knew, my head was in her lap and her fingers were massaging my head softly. "You're right, that was very sexist," she agreed as she tugged on my hair lightly. "No, but really, what did you think of me after that?" she prodded.

"Why do you care so much, miss?" I asked her as I turned my head and breathed against her thigh. I heard her breath in sharply and then flick my head as she laughed. "You seemed like a trustworthy person and you brought me to my father, why wouldn't I have liked you?" I wondered softly. "Why didn't my dad tell me immediately what you were?"

She sighed. "No one knew except him. You could've been an imposter, Sam Flynn. Things were starting to go awry when you came there. Something could've been wrong," she stated. "He always took extra precautions with me even though it was completely unnecessary," she murmured with a shrug.

"I'd never hurt a single hair on your pretty head," I mumbled as she continued to work her fingers through my hair.

"That may be so but we didn't know that."

"That's understandable."

She moved her hands from my hair and then moved them down my bare chest, repeating the motion a few times. "You were so fascinating, another human on the Grid than Flynn. Although you gave off an attitude that was a lot more careless than your father," she told me as she looked down at me evenly. "But I see why now and you don't really have that attitude anymore," she went on with a light grin.

"It's very hard to listen to you when you're barely dressed, you know?" I asked her softly as I let my eyes swoop over her body and then meet her eyes again.

She laughed and then hopped off of the bed lightly, bending down to grab my dress shirt. She threw it over her shoulders and then buttoned it up. She turned around once she was done and smiled. "Better?" she questioned as she moved so she was on top of me.

"Not at all," I answered simply as I rolled the tow of us over and pinned her to the bed. "You look really adorable wearing this," I murmured as I lowered my head to kiss her neck.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "We need to get married already, Sam Flynn," she breathed.

"Indeed we do."

_**Okay, so just a cutesy little chapter, ik, a bit lame but whatever.**_

_**The next chapter (Which is already written and ready to go, yeah thats right) is going to be awesome. Lol, im really excited to post it so you guys better review this one cos i need to get this story rolling again.**_

_**And yep! Sam and Quorra are adopting her! Aww...lol**_

_**Anyways, please Review if you liked or have some cc for me (:**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Hey, everyone! Enjoy (:**_

Chapter 4: Rememberance

Quorra P.O.V.

"There you two are," Sam murmured as he walked through the sliding glass doors to the terrace where Gracey and I sat on the cushioned outdoor couch together, reading a children's story on my iPad. I looked up at him and smiled widely, glad that he had come home early from ENCOM like he had promised.

Gracey had come home with us on Friday, three days ago, and now was a part of our family. She was adjusting well as were Sam and I to the fact that we had someone else living with us. She was fun and I had already learned so many new things from her already.

I stayed home with her today, not just to work on my college course work but also because she was nervous about going to daycare or staying with Lora for the day. Sam had suggested that we both take a day off and spend time with her but I had opted against that since he hadn't been in on Thursday or Friday either.

"Here we are," Gracey echoed as she hopped off of my lap and walked fluidly over to where Sam stood leaning against the glass. He bent down and picked her up in one easy motion. "Mom and I have been reading stories," she told him with a happy smile. "About unicorns, fairy princesses, and grumpy dragons."

Sam chuckled and glanced over at me. "Oh, really?"

I nodded my head and set the iPad on the glass table. It was very strange to be called something other than Quorra. I didn't mind that she calls me Quorra even though now, by law, I was her mother, but Sam said that it would be best if she did that. Gracey was more than thrilled. She was excited to have parents again.

"Yes, really," she quipped as she turned to look at me. Her electric green eyes sparkled in the evening sunlight and the sunlight bounced off of her skin.

"Well, I made reservations for dinner tonight. Can you go get ready for me?" he asked as he set her down on her feet once more. She nodded and hurried off into the apartment as I stood up. He met me halfway and wrapped his arms around me, linking his hands at the lower spot on my back. "How was your day?" he asked me after placing a swift kiss to my lips.

"It was interesting," I murmured as I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Although I didn't do much of my school work. I may start to fall behind if I don't watch it," I commented with a small laugh.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Says the girl who's ahead by at least a month," he taunted before pressing another kiss to my lips again.

"I missed you today," I added as I stared up at him with large and playfully sad eyes. "But she's a lot of fun. I think she is still getting used to us though," she went on as she looked over my shoulder inside of our apartment. "But for the most part, this whole parenting things is a bit easier than i expected."

"It'll take some time, sure," he agreed as he brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. "You took a little bit of time to get used to me…and everything," he said with a sly grin. "And...that's probably because she's different and that she's five, not one," he went on with a grin.

"I know," i murmured with a soft smile. "But still...I just don't want her to be afraid of us…me," I told him finally as I dropped my gaze from him to the blue colored tie falling from his neck. "I want her to be comfortable."

"I'm pretty sure she is, darling, comfortable that is," he soothed as his hands started to encircle my waist. "Who doesn't love you?" he asked me with a soft smile. I opened my mouth to speak and he sighed dramatically. "It was a rhetorical question. Don't answer it," he told me as he gave me a quick squeeze. "Did you talk to her?" he asked me.

I sighed. "Yes, but…it didn't change anything. We should invite Lora and Alan to dinner sometime this week so she can get to know them better. She only met Lora once," I told him as I met his gaze again. "I understand how she feels. And Daycare is out of the question for now, I think. I don't believe that is the best idea for her," I said to him.

"I thought of that today as well," Sam muttered. "And okay, we can have them over for dinner on Wednesday. Alan and I need to sort through some things anyways," he went on with a shrug.

"I'm ready," Gracey quipped from behind us as I heard light footsteps approaching. "Can you tie the bow, please?" Gracey asked as she tugged on my elbow.

She had put on a long sleeved polka-dotted dress that was navy blue with white polka- dots. The dress ended at her knees and she was wearing white sandals. "Sure," I murmured as Sam unwound his arms from around me and I bent down to tie the dress in the back. "Sam, where are we going?" I asked him as I finished the bow and then stood again.

"An Italian restaurant," he said as he started to walk inside. "You're fine in what you're wearing. It's just a dressy formal," he told me as he turned and glanced at my outfit again. I was currently wearing a light red flutter sleeve dress.

I followed him inside after Gracey and walked into our bedroom to grab my purse. I brushed through my hair quickly before walking out of the room to find Gracey and Sam waiting by the door. Marvin was resting in his small dog bed in the open area and he lifted his head briefly to acknowledge all of us.

Sam grabbed Gracey's lightweight jacket from the closet and handed it to her as I grabbed my black sweater. Gracey led us out of the door and hurried down the hall towards the elevator. Sam twined his hand with mine as we followed her down the hallway.

Sam buckled Gracey up in her car seat as I got into the passenger side. "It's not that hard, I don't know why you have such trouble," Gracey stated with a high pitched laugh.

Sam grunted as I heard him fumble with something. "I need to get the hang of the damn strap," he muttered under his breath.

"Sam," I scolded softly as I looked through the mirror at him. "The parenting books said that cursing leads to destructive behavior at their age," I reminded him as he finally buckled the seatbelt and got into the driver's seat.

Sam chuckled. "I think Gracey is far from destructive, right Gracey?" he asked as he looked behind him at her.

"Damn right," she said with enthusiasm. Sam made a face and I glared over at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. "I was kidding," Gracey murmured as she twirled her feet around one another. "Was that a bad joke?" she asked as her eyes widened slightly.

"If you're trying to get me in trouble, then no, it wasn't a bad joke," Sam said with a soft grin in my direction. He chuckled under his breath as he started the car, the new Mercedes Benz SUV, which we had purchased about a week ago. "Lighten up, Quorra. She's a bright kid as well as perceptive," he said, trying to reassure me.

I sighed and nodded. "I'm going to have to remember that the parenting guides won't necessarily work for you," I said as I looked through the mirror at her. She was twirling her hair in the backseat and looking out the window absentmindedly.

"I don't mean to be difficult if I am," she piped up softly as her eyes met mine through the mirror.

I shook my head. "You're not difficult at all."

"Do you want to watch something, Gracey? The restaurant is about an hour away maybe even worse if this traffic keeps up," Sam said as he glanced over at me briefly.

"Princess and the Frog!" she cheered almost immediately.

I searched for the movie on the entertainment system and then started the movie. "So…" Sam started as he turned the volume up a bit higher to the entertainment system. "Ed told me that he talked to you a few days ago," he started as his hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

I glanced over at him. "And?" I asked as I felt apprehension start to rise within me. "What did he tell you?" I asked him carefully.

"What did he say to you?" he shot back in the lightest of tones, as if we were talking about the weather or something. "He came across…very strange today, like he had some kind of control over me."

I shook my head barely. "He was sort of rambling when he talked to me. Although…" I trailed off as I tapped my fingers on the window indecisively.

"What?" he asked me intently as he started to press his foot on the gas a little more.

He barely had his eyes on the road now as he surveyed my facial expressions. I sighed in frustration. "Fine. I got a bad vibe from him when he spoke to me, okay?" I said as I clasped my hands together tightly.

"But what did he say?" Sam repeated as he turned onto the large interstate. "Or what did you say to him?" he pressed in a quiet tone.

"He talked about your father but…he was so mean towards him. I don't really understand that part," I started as I looked out the window. "And…I slipped up, Sam. I don't know, I got mad, I guess," I breathed as I ran my fingers through my hair. "I told him that he shouldn't talk bad about someone that he never knew. I told him that your father saved my life," I said finally as my shoulders slumped. "So stupid..."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Sam asked me softly.

"I didn't want you to be mad. I was mad at myself for doing something so stupid! I was acting so…"

"Human?" Sam asked me as he raised one of his eyebrows. I nodded briefly at him. "I'm not mad at you, more disappointed in you maybe," he said as he slowed to a stop at a red light. "I value your safety, you know that. You also know that I really don't trust him when it comes to you," he added. "And there's nothing wrong with acting human," he teased as he winked at me.

I groaned. "I don't make mistakes, Sam Flynn, not like that," I murmured.

"It's okay, Mom," Gracey commented in her trilling childlike voice. "No one's perfect," she said to me.

Sam's throaty chuckle made me smile slightly. "But still…I'll keep an eye on things and let Alan know. He called you interesting…I'm not quite sure what that means," he said in a worried tone.

"Mom is interesting though," Gracey cheered happily

"She is..." Sam mumbled as he glanced over at me. "And I think he knows that."

"You've always had those feelings about him," I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "We'll talk about it later, Sam," I murmured as I glanced behind me and then back at him. He nodded briefly and focused his attention back on the road.

"Oh, so you don't want me to know what you're talking about." Gracey murmured to the two of us boldly. "Is something the matter?" she asked in a quieter voice.

"Nothing's wrong," Sam lied easily as I shrunk in my seat deliberately.

"Okay…" Gracey trailed off as she began to watch her movie again.

Sam pulled into the restaurant parking lot and pulled up to the front. A man in a uniform opened my door and ushered me out while Sam got Gracey out of her car seat in the back. Sam walked up to me with Gracey in his arms, briefly giving the man money and instructions for parking the car in ballet.

He set Gracey down once the man drove off with our car and she took both of our hands before we walked inside. "I've never been here before," she murmured as she looked around in wonder once we had stopped in front of the desk.

I smiled as Sam told the lady behind the counter our reservations. She led us back to a mostly empty section of the restaurant and seated us at a booth. Gracey crawled in before me while Sam sat on the other side. "Will she need a booster seat?" the lady asked before departing.

"A what?" I asked.

"Yes, please," Sam said over me as he glanced at me in amusement. She disappeared as Gracey started talking.

"When will my tutor start coming again?" she asked. "I haven't learned anything new in about a week," she murmured as she picked up the crayons with her kids menu and started coloring in a picture.

Gracey had a tutor just for her since her learning had accelerated since the transfusion. She read at a high school level and wrote like an eighth grader. She was way above her learning level so Dr. Reid had found someone that can teach her that is somewhat aware of the changes that she went through.

Sam cleared his throat. "Probably next week, Dr. Reid wanted to assure that you were settled first before you picked back up with your learning. Anyways, we're probably going to enroll you into a private school soon," he answered.

"What? Why? I don't want to go to school," she said in a horrified tone.

Sam and I stared at each other, not expecting this type of response from her at all. "It would be a small school, Gracey, a school for educationally gifted children sort of like yourself," he told her. "You need to interact with children your own age even though you are smarter than them," Sam said with a heaving sigh.

Her shoulders slumped. "They won't like me," she mumbled as she hid her face from out view.

"Why wouldn't they like you?" I asked her.

"Because I'm different," she breathed.

I sighed and pulled her into my arms a bit awkwardly since the table was in my way. "And what's wrong with being different? I thought this world embraced diversity in children," I said with a small smile. She looked at me with wide eyes and didn't answer. "There's nothing wrong with being different. I've been different my entire existance and look where I am," I murmured as I motioned my hand towards Sam.

"But what if they don't like me?" she asked me quietly.

"They will," Sam assured her lightly. "They just have to get to know you first."

I glanced over Sam's shoulder as I saw a young couple sit in the booth next to ours. "I think you'd like school. I like school," I told her with a grin. "You can show off how smart you are," I said with a laugh.

She smiled up at me and hugged me briefly before moving out of my lap to sit on her side again. "I'm cold," she stated as she started to look for her jacket.

"I have it," Sam said as he handed it to her and she threw it on.

We placed our orders when the waitress came back with our drinks and we waited, talking amongst ourselves while Gracey munched on this strangely shaped garlic bread.

"Would you like some wine?" Sam asked me as he looked through the bar menu. "They have your favorite white wine here," he told me with a smile.

I shook my head but then frowned as I noticed the man at the other table moving his gaze from me to Gracey. He looked familiar somehow but I had no idea where I had seen him before. "Mmm…no…" I mumbled as I caught his eyes. He looked away immediately, looking at a picture frame on the wall instead. "Someone has to drive home," I reminded him as I glanced at Gracey.

Sam chuckled. "And you were so worried about being a mom. I think you have it down, sweetheart," he told me with a laugh as he closed the menu and set it aside.

I nodded absentmindedly at him as I kept my trained eyes on the man that sat behind him. "I know that man…" I breathed. "But I don't know where…" I trailed off as I racked my brain for an answer. "Gosh, my memory is getting worse, I swear," I mumbled in agitation.

Sam frowned at me and turned his head slightly to see who I was looking at. "I've never seen him before, maybe you're just imagining things," he pondered as he glanced over at Gracey finishing her drawing.

"I'm not imagining things, Sam Flynn," I muttered as I glanced at him once before returning my eyes back on the man. Why couldn't I recognize him? Maybe it was the top hat?

His eyes met mine again and he smiled. The smile seemed to transform his face.

That was when I remembered him.

I was pulled into a memory that I had tried so hard to block out.

_I was back in our old apartment and I heard the sickening noise of that first earsplitting gunshot. I heard myself scream and as I stood in the doorway, waiting for Marvin to run out, I saw him._

_Standing there, smiling, past the glass sliding doors to our terrace._

I was thrown back out of my memory and gasped, pulling my eyes from his. I felt my hands bang against the table and I abruptly stood. "We're leaving. Now." I stated in a choked tone.

"Quorra?" Sam asked in a strange tone. "We haven't even eaten yet, are you sure-"

"I said now, Sam Flynn," I said in a tone that had no room for questioning. My head spun and swam as I felt all of these emotions swarming through my body.

Confusion. Hatred. Agony. Fear. Uneasy. Disgusted. Bitter. Distrust.

I needed to get out of here.

Sam didn't argue with me. He pulled his wallet out and placed five-hundred dollars in the center of the table before standing. "Come on, Gracey," he said. He picked her up once she got out of the booth and Sam placed his hand on the middle of my back, leading us out of the restaurant quickly.

We waited for our car to be brought to us and once it pulled up, Sam opened the passenger side door for me and closed it once I got in. Sam buckled Gracey up in her seat and then got into the driver's side, pulling off almost immediately.

"Put your seatbelt on," Sam reminded me as we turned onto the busy street. I did as he asked and leaned back into the seat, feeling dizzy. "So do you want me to ask now or later?" he questioned as his eyes stayed focused on the road.

I didn't answer him so he just sighed and turned some music on. The ride home was quiet and Gracey had even fallen asleep halfway back home. "We should get her something to eat," I murmured finally as I turned to look at her.

"We have some kids' meals at home," he said shortly. "We'll be there in less than ten minutes."

I sighed and looked out the window. He was mad.

Sam parked the car next to our other car in the parking garage and got out. "I'll get her," I murmured as I opened the car door and then opened the door to the backseat. I undid the two buckles as Sam walked up onto the curb with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the ground. I picked her up and grabbed her jacket.

"Ow," she mumbled as I bumped her head on the top of the car as I pulled her out.

Her eyes fluttered open and I grimaced. "I'm sorry," I murmured as I rubbed her head and shut the door. Sam locked the car and walked alongside me as we made our way to our apartment. Sam opened the door to the apartment and I turned the lights on as we walked in. "Would you like a pizza?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Cheese please," she murmured. "I'm going to go clean up," she added as I set her down. She walked off in the direction of her room and closed the door partially. I heard the shower turn on to her bathroom.

I watched as Sam got a frozen pizza out of the freezer and placed it in the oven under low heat. He turned around to face me with an emotionless expression. "So what's going on?" he asked me.

I bit my lip and exhaled. "See, you're mad," I said to him as my lip quivered. "Please, don't be."

"What happened in there?" he reiterated as he took a few steps closer to me.

I rubbed my hands against my face. "My memory, Sam…it's blotchy…" I breathed. "That night in the old apartment…" I started as my voice started to shake. "He was right there, right there! And I couldn't remember him…" I whispered as I closed my eyes. "On the terrace, just watching," I went on as my voice quivered.

"Who is he?" Sam asked me as placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed gently.

"That man…in the restaurant sitting behind you, he was there that night," I said in a sure tone. "That's why I thought I had seen him before."

Sam cursed under his breath and then sighed. "And you're sure? Very sure?" he asked me, hoping for something.

I barely nodded. "I'm very sure, Sam," I whispered as I turned to face him. "That was him."

Sam backed away from me and placed his fingers in his hair, pulling on the blond strands. "This isn't going to stop, is it?" he asked hoarsely. "Until they successfully yank you away from me," he stammered as he turned away from me. "Until you're gone."

"Sam," I said as I stood from the bar stool and walked up to him. He turned to look down at me and I saw the pure agony in his eyes. "Maybe I was wrong," I lied as I shook my head. "Maybe-"

"Don't lie to me, Quorra, you're really bad at it," he told me angrily. "Everywhere you go, people want to get rid of you," he breathed. "Aren't you sick of it?"

I pulled a half smile on my face. "I'm kind of used to it," I told him.

"Well, I'm not," he shot back angrily. "How much longer will this go on until they win?" he asked me roughly. "You're not leaving me. You're not leaving Gracey. You can't," he said and then his eyes widened. "Gracey…" he whispered. "Did he…?"

"Of course he saw her Sam, she was with us," I stated as I wrapped my arms around him. "And I'm not leaving anyone," I added as I ran my fingers through his hair. "You have to believe that."

"What do we do?" he asked me as he secured his arms around my waist.

I sighed and leaned my head against his chest. "Get some dinner and go to sleep," I answered softly. "Gracey is still up so for the time being, we have to act like parents. We'll talk about it tomorrow," I promised him as I stood on my toes to kiss him quickly.

He wrapped his arms tighter around me so I couldn't pull away. He kissed me deeper then, passionately for a few moments before pulling away. He ran his fingers along my cheek and kissed me once more, quickly, before letting me go entirely. "Alright."

"Everything will be alright," I tried to assure him as I placed my hand on his arm.

He gave me a detached look before walking away in what seemed to be defeat.

"You said that last time."

_**OMG, what? lol, so now we are starting to dive into the suspense part of it. i needed an interesting opener so I hope you liked it!**_

_**Review me and tell me what you thought, what you think will happen, or some cc, cause i know that I need some.**_

_**Till next time! (:**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Hey, Everyone! Long time...I know. I've been battling with major writers block. Anyways, I hope you all like the chapter!**_

Chapter 5

Adventuring

Sam P.O.V.

Quorra unwound her arms from my torso and stepped off of the Ducati as I turned the engine off. I reached in the back compartment to grab my backpack, swinging it over my shoulders as I got off the bike as well. I walked over to Quora as she took her jacket off to reveal a baby blue eyelet tank top that clung to her form.

"Will you tell me what we are doing yet?" she asked as I took the jacket from her and put it in the compartment where my backpack had just been.

I grinned and wrapped an arm around her as I gestured towards the scenery around me with my other hand. "Care to take a guess?" i asked with a grin.

She looked around her carefully before she answered. We were at a national park just outside of Beverly Hills that was pretty quiet for the most part. I had been wanting to take her hiking for a while now and since Lora had offered to watch Gracey today, it was the perfect opportunity. "I thought you camped at night time," she murmured as she looked over at me with a puzzled face.

"Try again," I urged as I shook my head and squeezed her against me gently.

Her face lit up once everything dawned on her. "We're hiking," she stated with a gleam.

"Yes, and having a picnic under a waterfall," i added as i took her hand and started walking towards one of the trails. "I think that you'll like hiking, but I could be wrong. Some people don't like it too much."

She leaned in to me slightly. "Why not? Hiking seems interesting," she told me. "It's adventurous!" she murmured happily as we started to speed up. "And you know how much I like adventures," she added.

"I do," I agreed as I rubbed my hand over her bare shoulder.

We began our trek on the slight upgrade slowly, stopping every so often when Quorra would stray off of the trail to show something to me that caught her attention. "Are there wild animals here?" she asked me curiously as we walked through a large sunlit area.

"Like?" i asked her with a laugh.

She gave me a sideways glance. "Like...bears, mountain lions, deer, things like that," she clarified as she squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight.

"There are probably deer and maybe some foxes or coyotes but I don't think that there are bears or mountain lions in this area. We are too close to the city and this area is entirely too small to support a forest-like ecosystem," I answered. "Why? Are you scared?" i asked her with a wide grin.

"Kind of. Humans seem to get mauled by animals and hunted by them," she told me as she clutched my arm tighter for a moment.

I chuckled. "Those are just TV shows, it's not real. They are actors. It's for entertainment," i reminded her as I squeezed her hand and pulled her along with me.

"People being harmed is entertaining to humans? That sounds very...wrong," she murmured as she looked up at me with a saddened face. "I doubt someone would want that to happen to someone they know or themselves," she huffed.

I sighed. "It's supposed to add suspense, make it a thriller," i said. "But...when you put it that way, it does sound kind of bad," I admitted with a small nod.

"Oh!" Quorra gasped as she pointed to our left where a rabbit was sitting in the leaves. "It's so small, so cute," she murmured as she laughed. "Did you know that a baby rabbit is called a kitten?" she asked me with a wide smile as we stopped and looked over at the small animal.

I shook my head. "I didn't," i told her with a smile. "So when you said that you wanted a kitten did you mean a cat or a rabbit?" I asked her with a grin.

"A cat," she stated as she turned to look at me with a hopeful look. "But I wouldn't mind having a bunny too," she added.

"Any other pets that you want?" i asked her sarcastically.

Her eyes widened and she smiled widely again. "A bird would be cool too, one that talks, a parrot! Hamsters seem like they are cute too, and..." her voice trailed off as she eyes me curiously. "That was a rhetorical question, you were being sarcastic," she murmured as her face dawned in realization.

"You can still answer rhetorical questions," i said to her. "And I don't think the manager of our apartment complex would like us too much if we had that many pets," i went on with a laugh.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter, we're moving soon," she reminded me as we walked over a small bridge with a small stream below.

"How'd you know that?" i asked her. "I was going to surprise you," i said.

Quorra shrugged. "Lora told me the other week. She told me that she wasn't supposed to tell me though and then she blamed her old age," she said with a small smile. "I don't quite understand the age issue that people seem to have. They complain that they are getting older. Technically, I'm over a thousand years old and I'm not complaining about it," she murmured.

I smirked. "Well, that's because you haven't aged as you got older. You look like you're in your 20's and you're perfect," I explained to her..

"I'm not perfect though," she told me in a grumble.

I huffed. "That was supposed to be a compliment," i said as I pulled her off of the trail and pinned her up against the trunk of a large tree. "You're supposed to say thank you when you're complimented, not argue," I stated with a grin as i leaned my forehead against hers.

She gave me an innocent smile and pushed me away from her. "Thank you Samuel," she giggled.

"There we go," i murmured as I moved back towards her and grabbed her chin gently. "And since when am I called Samuel?" I asked her.

"Do you have a problem with it?" she asked me with a laugh as she ran her thumbs over my cheeks and then wrapped her arms around my neck.

I shook my head and pressed myself against her.. "Not at all," i breathed as I tilted her head up towards mine and kissed her. She responded almost instantly, tightening her lock around my neck and running her fingers in my hair. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her towards me even more, if that were even possible, and melted against the soft feel of her body against mine

Her lips parted against mine and I felt the warmth of her breath as she took in small gasps of air. I bit on her lower lip gently before sucking on it and then running my tongue slowly over it. She let out a sigh and tightened her fingers in my hair as I picked her up and wrapped her legs around my torso.

Her hands moved to my shoulders and she pulled away from me, opening her eyes and pressing her forehead against mine. "You know what I've never done before?" she asked me with a tinkering laugh as she looked down at me with her gorgeous blue eyes.

I rose my eyebrows. "A lot of things," I answered as I pressed a kiss to her nose.

She gave me an exasperated look as she pulled away from me. "I've never climbed a tree," she murmured as she tilted her head back and glanced up at the treetops above her. "I want to, can we?" she asked as she gave me a small pout and pressed her hand to my cheek.

"Well, yes, but I was hoping to kiss you for a little bit longer, miss mood kill," I said with a grin.

She laughed as she unwound her legs from around me. "Well, I didn't know that it was an inappropriate time to make that suggestion," she told me as she hugged me before pulling away.

I gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her and shoving my hands into my pockets. "Sure, you didn't," I teased as I gave her a disappointed look.

"Oh, come on, Sam Flynn! You can kiss me up in the tree," she exclaimed as she pointed upwards. "Now let's start climbing!" she said as she turned around and stared up at the large oak tree.

I walked up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You mean this one? That's a little difficult, don't you think?" i asked her.

"No, the hardest part would be getting to the first branch," she murmured as she reached her arms up and was short of the first branch by about five feet. "I can't reach."

I chuckled. "We can climb a different one."

"No, I want to climb this one," she murmured as she looked over at me and grinned. "It seems like a challenge. It's exactly74.23 feet to the very top of the tree but we can go about 63.5 feet before the branches start to thin out to the point where it would be too dangerous to climb on them," she told me.

"And you figured that out how?" I asked her with wide eyes.

She laughed. "A few simple mathematical equations," she answered with an easy shrug. "Now, will you help me up to the first branch?" she asked me. "Since you are taller than me, you can get up if you jump," she went on.

"I smell a very bad idea coming on," I grumbled as I made a face. I cupped my hands and bent down a little bit. "Here, put your foot here. If it's not enough, I'll help you onto my shoulders," i said as she did what i told her.

"It's not a bad idea," she said to me as I fastened my other arm around her legs and lifted her up higher. "Come on, short stuff," I chuckled as i looked up to see that she still wasn't near the tree.

"I am not short, I am actually slightly above the average height of women," she corrected me. "Am I hurting you? We can always try a new tactic," she suggested as she swayed and grabbed the trunk of the tree for support.

"No, you're alright. Place your feet on my shoulders and you'll get up there," I said as I lifted her up a little more and her weight moved from my hands to my shoulders and then was gone in the next moment. For a moment, I thought she was falling but then I saw her feet dangling and her body swinging. "You got it?" i asked her as i looked up at her.

She grunted and pulled herself up, pulling her upper body over the limb followed by one of her legs. She leaned up against the trunk of the tree and looked down at me in triumph. "Your turn!" she said with a smile.

I took a few steps back before rushing forward and jumping, grabbing onto the branch as i did so. Within a handful of seconds, I was eye level with Quorra again. "Would you like to go first?" i asked as I gestured up the tree. She grinned and stood up, hugging the tree as she balanced herself. "No falling," i added as i looked up at her. "I know how much you like hospital visits."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "You better...knock on the wood," she said with a smile before she started making her way up the tree carefully.

I laughed at her. "Close enough," i mumbled as I stood and started to follow behind her. "You know...I'm loving the view down here," I added as i looked up.

"What do you mean? We're only fifteen feet off of the ground. Nothing seems to be really different yet," she murmured as she looked down at me to notice where my gaze was pointed at. She gave me a surprised look and then I could see her cheeks tinting slightly pink. "Stop it, Sam. We aren't at the top yet," she huffed as she looked away from me and continued to climb.

"You are quite sassy, you know that?" I asked as i climbed up beside her.. She tilted her head back and laughed aloud.

"This is fun, a little energy consuming, but it's very fun," she told me as she now followed after me as I climbed up the tree. "I'm kind of hungry," she added.

I nodded as i looked down at her. "I told you to eat something more than a banana this morning, but no, you didn't listen to me," i reminded her.

"I wasn't that hungry and anyways, I was trying to get Gracey ready to go with Lora and Alan. She was being unusually difficult today," she responded as her forehead creased.

"It's probably just a little phase that she's going through. She's a kid, sometimes they are like that," i shrugged. "But I do have an entire picnic of things in my backpack," i said to her.

"All in there?" she asked me. "Oh, that's great!" she exclaimed as she started to fall behind from my movements. "This is a bit exerting," she admitted.

I slowed down. "I know," I replied. "Why don't we stop here?" I asked her. "How high up are we?"

She looked down briefly. "You are 51 feet exactly and I am 43.2 feet" she answered. "I think that is far enough," she went on as she caught up with me and sat on the tree branch. "Now you can kiss me," she murmured as she looked up at me expectantly.

I grinned and sat down beside her on the branch, leaning in against her to steady the both of us. She pressed her lips to mine before I could even get to her, leaning up against the base of the tree as she did that. I kissed her back fervently, brushing my hand over the soft skin of her cheek.

I felt her hands trace circles along my back and then move to my shoulders, gripping my shirt gently. Her scent was completely overwhelming, drawing me into her every time, causing myself to get lost with the simple idea of her.

Her full lips continued to move with mine and after a while, I could feel the rise and fall of her chest starting to stagger. I pulled away and laughed softly, placing my hands on either side of her face and kissing her once more but this time, gently. She inhaled deeply and looked at me curiously. "Why did you stop?" she asked me as she took another deep breath.

She ran her fingers through her hair and I watched as her pink cheeks started to fade. "You're out of breath," I answered with a sly smirk. "And because we aren't done hiking yet," i added as I grabbed her chin with my thumb and forefinger. I kissed her once more before pulling away completely. "Let's start making our way down."

She nodded at me and watched as I started to move down the tree. Once I got to the lowest branch,I dropped down to the ground and looked up expectantly. Quorra sat on the branch and swung her legs a bit while tilting her head to the side. "That is far down," she commented.

"Just jump, you're body can handle it," I told her. She shrugged and I stood back and watched as she pushed off of the branch and fell to the ground, landing on her feet but then falling back on her bottom.

I reached a hand out for her and she took it, pulling herself up and then brushing the leaves and grass off of her. "I didn't do that right," she murmured as her shoulders slumped.

"I'll give it a seven. At least you can say that you climbed a tree now," I said with a grin as I took her hand and led her back to the trail and started walking again.

She leaned into me and giggled. "It was fun," she breathed. "But I don't like that I get exhausted now. That's one thing that I like about my old self."

"Your old self?" I asked her with surprise. "That's what you call it? You're still the same person, but-"

"Program," she corrected with a small smile in my direction.

I sighed. "Program...you still have the same body," I tried as I squeezed her hand.

"It looks the same but it's not. It's weaker physically," she replied. "And I no longer have circuitry," she went on.

We entered a large opening and I could hear a roaring of water in the distance. "Well, aside from that... you're the same, aren't you?" I asked.

"I suppose," she answered. "I still wonder if I'd be like this if I had come here with my disk," she told me.

"You adapted, that's all," I answered. "You're still capable of what my father suspected."

She smiled up at me sadly. "You know that I can't do it, Sam," she murmured. "It's just...me. I can't save everyone. I've been here for over eight months and all I've done is help one person," she went on. "I can't do that for over 7 billion people."

"You can't be expected to. I know that my father wouldn't have expected that from you," I said reassuringly.

She sighed. "I know..."

"It's not important now, so don't worry about it. We'll figure it out. We have time," I stated as we walked up towards a steep rocky downgrade that led to a large river with a waterfall.

Her eyes widened as she looked down at the scenery.. "It's so pretty," she murmured. "How do we get down there though?"

"Ready for a little scaling?" i asked her with a wide smile.

Her eyes widened even more. "Down this? It looks...dangerous. We don't have any equipment," she told me.

"It's not as bad as it looks," i promised her. "But we aren't going down right here," i said as i walked along the edge until I stopped at any easier point.

She looked at me with exasperation. "It looks the same," she commented.

"That means that you're not looking hard enough," I told her. "There's a trail, see?"

I pointed out a zigzag pattern across the rock forms that led to the bottom. "Oh, alright. You first though," she said as she edged away from the drop-off.

"You wanted to go hiking," I reminded her.

"I did," she agreed. "But I liked walking along flat surfaces."

I looked back at her. "We can go another way if this scares you," I told her.

"I'm not scared, just unconvinced about this terrain," she stated. "Let's go then."

I chuckled and took her hand, heading down the slope carefully with her behind me. "It helps to slant your feet slightly, like when we go to the lake. The broken up rocks are kind of slippery to watch your footing because you can slip."

"Whatever, Sam Flynn," she muttered behind me.

We made it down the sloped trail in about five minutes and I stopped at the bottom as Quorra took in the view. "Do you like it?" I asked her.

"It's amazing! The view is completely different from what I saw up there," she told me with a wide smile.

"We're going to have lunch over there," I said as I pointed to the space behind the waterfall.

"Wow, that's cool," she murmured as we start to make our way around the valley. The rocks were slippery with water as we made out way behind the waterfall but everything dried up as we went farther back a few feet. Quorra sat on the dry surface as I opened the backpack and pulled out a large blanket for us to sit on.

I pulled out a container of watermelon as Quorra fixed the blanket and then sat on one side of it. "Your favorite," I said as i handed the container to her.. I handed her a sub sandwich and a cold water before sitting down.

"It's colder than i thought it would be behind here," she murmured as she opened her sandwich and took a bite of it.

I pulled a second blanket out of the backpack and put it around her but then she stood and sat in my lap, wrapping the blanket around the both of us. "Even better," I mumbled as I kissed the top of her head.

"Anything else n that backpack?" she asked me with a giggle.

I shrugged. "That's about it. Not much more could fit in such a small space," I said as I drank some of my water.

Once Quorra finished her sandwich, she got up and sat on the edge of the rock, taking off her shoes and socks and dipping her feet in. She shrieked and pulled her feet out of the water quickly. "That's freezing cold!" she exclaimed.

"It's spring water. It stays underneath the ground mostly so sunlight doesn't hit it often. It's naturally colder," I explained as I watched her put her socks back on and then tie her shoes back up.

She sniffed. "You could've warned me."

"I could have, yes, but I wanted to see your facial expression," I admitted with a chuckle.

She came back over to me to sit with me again and I wrapped her back up in the blanket. "You're mean sometimes," she said with a saddened face.

"I'm not mean. You would've done it anyways. If I had told you it was cold, you would've asked me how cold it was and I don't know so you would've felt how cold it was," I stated as I hugged her to me.

She glared at me. "57 degrees," she mumbled as she stuck her tongue out. "Which seems colder when it's water for some reason, probably because the air around us is much warmer."

"Probably," I hummed as I took the last bite of my own sandwich and put the wrapper in a trash bag. My phone rang in my back pocket then. "I'm surprised that we have service down here," I mumbled as I started to reach for my phone. Quorra beat me to it though, reaching into my back pocket for it.

She looked at the screen before answering it, smiling up at me as she leaned her head onto my shoulder. "Yes, Alan?" she asked. Her smile faded as I heard Alan saying something on the other side. "What happened?" she asked as her head shot up.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"Alright, we'll bet there as soon as we can," she said before hanging up the phone and standing up. "We have to go," she answered as she unwrapped herself from me and stood up.

I stood as well. "Why? What's the matter?" I asked.

"Something happened to Gracey."

_**Tell me what you thought of the chapter, or just let me know that I still have readers...haha. See you all soon!**_


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